Feynman's ratchet and pawl: an exactly solvable model
We introduce a simple, discrete model of Feynman's ratchet and pawl, operating between two heat reservoirs. We solve exactly for the steady-state directed motion and heat flows produced, first in the absence and then in the presence of an external load. We show that the model can act both as a...
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| Published in: | Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics Vol. 59; no. 6; pp. 6448 - 6459 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
United States
01-06-1999
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| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | We introduce a simple, discrete model of Feynman's ratchet and pawl, operating between two heat reservoirs. We solve exactly for the steady-state directed motion and heat flows produced, first in the absence and then in the presence of an external load. We show that the model can act both as a heat engine and as a refrigerator. We finally investigate the behavior of the system near equilibrium, and use our model to confirm general predictions based on linear-response theory. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 1063-651X 1095-3787 |
| DOI: | 10.1103/PhysRevE.59.6448 |