Quantum Mechanics Trumps the Second Law of Thermodynamics at the Atomic Scale

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Quantum Mechanics Trumps the Second Law of Thermodynamics at the Atomic Scale:

Two physicists at the University of Stuttgart have proven that the Carnot principle, a central law of thermodynamics, does not apply to objects on the atomic scale whose physical properties are linked (so-called correlated objects). This discovery could, for example, advance the development of tiny, energy-efficient quantum motors. The derivation has been published in the journal Science Advances.

Internal combustion engines and steam turbines are thermal engines: They convert thermal energy into mechanical motion-or, in other words, heat into motion. In recent years, quantum mechanical experiments have succeeded in reducing the size of heat engines to the microscopic range.

"Tiny motors, no larger than a single atom, could become a reality in the future," says Professor Eric Lutz from the Institute for Theoretical Physics I at the University of Stuttgart. "It is now also evident that these engines can achieve a higher maximum efficiency than larger heat engines."

Scientists break 200-year-old principle to create atomic engines that power future nanobots:

A research team in Germany has achieved a stunning theoretical breakthrough that could reshape one of physics' oldest foundations after demonstrating that the no longer holds true for objects on the atomic scale.

Their findings, made by Eric Lutz, PhD, a physics professor and Milton Aguilar, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Stuttgart, show that quantum systems can exceed efficiency limit defined by the Carnot principle.

The law, which was developed by French physicist Nicolas Leonard Sadi Carnot in 1824, is a central law of thermodynamics that has remained unchallenged for two centuries.

It states that all heat engines operating between the same two thermal or heat reservoirs can not have efficiencies greater than a reversible heat engine operating between the same reservoirs.

"Our results provide a unified formalism to determine the efficiency of correlated microscopic quantum machines," the two physicists stated.

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