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-
- Entropy as the Function of Time at Free Expansion
- _____________________________________________________
-
- This experiment is a play, actually. There is a separation
- wall with a slit in the container. The student can open or close
- this slit using the <F6> key. The upper on-line diagram shows the
- entropy of mixing, the lower one shows the temperature (the total
- energy) of the system.
-
- 20 green particles start from the left part of the container.
- The door on the wall is initially closed. So the entropy of mixing
- is zero. If you open the door using <F6> the particles quickly fill
- up both sides, while the entropy of mixing increases and will
- fluctuate around its maximum value. Note that the temperature of the
- system don't change during this irreversible expansion.
-
- Now the play begins. The point is to pump all particles into
- the left side again by opening and closing the slit on the wall and
- thus decreasing the entropy to zero again. But look out! A
- momentary inattention makes the well arranged state a total disorder!
- In case of getting tired due to selection the automatic Maxwell demon
- (see the MAXWELL.MIC experiment) may be used.
-
- Control keys:
-
- <F2> : switch ON/OFF tracing of a randomly selected particle
- <F4> : switch ON/OFF shot noise
- <F5> : switch ON/OFF mutual collisions of the particles
- <F6> : OPEN/CLOSE the door on the separation wall
- <P> : temporarily suspend the simulation, resume it by pressing
- any key
- <Esc>: stop the simulation