The Road to Maxwell's demon

"Time asymmetric phenomena are successfully predicted by statistical mechanics. Yet the foundations of this theory are surprisingly shaky. Its explanation for the ease of mixing milk with coffee is incomplete, and even implies that un-mixing them should be just as easy. In this book the authors develop a new conceptual foundation for statistical mechanics that addresses this difficulty. Explaining the notions of macrostates, probability, measurement, memory, and the arrow of time in statistical mechanics, they reach the startling conclusion that Maxwell's Demon, the famous perpetuum mobile, is consistent with the fundamental physical laws. Mathematical treatments are avoided where possible, and instead the authors use novel diagrams to illustrate the text. This is a fascinating book for graduate students and researchers interested in the foundations and philosophy of physics."--

1. Introduction -- 2. Thermodynamics -- 2.1. The experience of asymmetry in time -- 2.2. The Law of Conservation of Energy -- 2.3. The Law of Approach to Equilibrium -- 2.4. The Second Law of Thermodynamics -- 2.5. The status of the laws of thermodynamics -- 3. Classical mechanics -- 3.1. The fundamental theory of the world -- 3.2. Introducing classical mechanics -- 3.3. Mechanical states -- 3.4. Time evolution of mechanical states -- 3.5. Thermodynamic magnitudes -- 3.6. A mechanical no-go theorem -- 3.7. The ergodic approach -- 3.8. Conclusion -- 4. Time -- 4.1. Introduction: why mechanics cannot underwrite thermodynamics -- 4.2. Classical kinematics -- 4.3. The direction of time and the direction of velocity in time -- 4.4. The description of mechanical states -- 4.5. Velocity reversal -- 4.6. Retrodiction -- 4.7. Time reversal and time-reversal invariance -- 4.8. Why the time-reversal invariance of classical mechanics matters -- 5. Macrostates -- 5.1. The physical nature of macrostates -- 5.2. How do macrostates come about? -- 5.3. Explaining thermodynamics with macrostates -- 5.4. The dynamics of macrostates -- 5.5. The physical origin of thermodynamic macrostates -- 5.6. Bol…