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thermodynamics
Trends
- 1
An educational physics lesson on heat as the transfer of thermal energy is drawing wide attention online. The lesson explains how heat moves between objects through conduction, convection and radiation, and why energy always flows from hotter to cooler bodies. It is being used by students and families as a study aid, sparking renewed interest in basic thermodynamics concepts for school-level physics.
- 2Musk's claim that cooling is easier in space draws pushbackโFor several years I've tried and eventually gave up any attempt for intellectually honest discussion about Elon Musk's i
A long-running claim attributed to Elon Musk โ that cooling is easier in space than on Earth โ is being criticised as physically wrong. Commenters point out that space has no medium for convection, so spacecraft must dump heat via radiation alone, making thermal management one of the hardest problems in satellite and station design. Similar arguments have circulated since the 1960s and keep resurfacing.
- 3
Absolute zero, around minus 273.15 degrees Celsius, is the lowest temperature physically possible, a limit set by the laws of thermodynamics rather than by anything in the universe itself. At that point atoms reach their minimum possible energy and cannot be cooled further. Science writers are revisiting the concept, explaining why physicists can approach but never actually reach this ultimate cold.
- 4
A research team in Toronto has produced a detailed mapping of how entropy is produced in quantum subsystems that are driven away from equilibrium. The work aims to clarify how irreversibility and heat-like losses arise in driven quantum systems, a question central to quantum thermodynamics and the engineering of quantum devices. Coverage so far is limited, with readers in the physics community noting the study's potential relevance to controlling dissipation in quantum technologies.
- 5
Physicists are revisiting whether black holes can fragment into smaller ones. The question touches on thermodynamics of black holes, which lose entropy when they split, making the process forbidden under classical theory but debated in quantum gravity contexts. It is a theoretical discussion about the fundamental physics of black holes rather than an observed event, and the specific trigger for renewed interest is unclear.
- 6New Study Links Quantum Entropy to Dissipative Information FlowsโQuantum dynamical entropy and dissipative information flows
A physics paper published in an APS journal examines quantum dynamical entropy and how information flows dissipate in open quantum systems. The work connects measures of dynamical entropy to the loss and transfer of information in systems interacting with their environment, a topic relevant to quantum thermodynamics and quantum computing research. Discussion appears limited to the academic community so far.
- 7Physicists confirm multicomponent superconductivity in UTeโผThermodynamic demonstration of tetracriticality and multicomponent superconductivity in UTe
Researchers report in Nature the first thermodynamic demonstration of tetracriticality in the superconductor UTe, providing evidence that its superconducting state has multiple components. The finding advances understanding of unconventional superconductivity, a field where UTe has drawn growing attention in physics discussions.
- 8
A new study suggests Maxwell's demon, the famous 19th-century thought experiment in thermodynamics, can extract usable energy from a system's hidden information, or what researchers call hidden memories. The finding deepens the connection between information theory and thermodynamics, showing that erased or unseen information can still play a role in energy extraction, with potential implications for physics and information-based technologies.