PIRSA:11050009

The smallest possible thermal machines and the foundations of thermodynamics

APA

Popescu, S. (2011). The smallest possible thermal machines and the foundations of thermodynamics. Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. https://pirsa.org/11050009

MLA

Popescu, Sandu. The smallest possible thermal machines and the foundations of thermodynamics. Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, May. 18, 2011, https://pirsa.org/11050009

BibTex

          @misc{ scivideos_PIRSA:11050009,
            doi = {10.48660/11050009},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/11050009},
            author = {Popescu, Sandu},
            keywords = {Quantum Foundations},
            language = {en},
            title = {The smallest possible thermal machines and the foundations of thermodynamics},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics},
            year = {2011},
            month = {may},
            note = {PIRSA:11050009 see, \url{https://scivideos.org/index.php/pirsa/11050009}}
          }
          

Sandu Popescu University of Bristol

Talk numberPIRSA:11050009
Source RepositoryPIRSA
Collection

Abstract

In my talk I raise the question of the fundamental limits to the size of thermal machines - refrigerators, heat pumps and work producing engines - and I will present the smallest possible ones. I will also discuss the issue of a possible complementarity between size and efficiency and show that even the smallest machines could be maximally efficient. Finally I will present a new point of view over what is work and what do thermal machines actually do.