Soutenance d'Aubin Archambault
| When |
Dec 12, 2023
from 10:00 to 12:00 |
|---|---|
| Where | Salle des thèses |
| Attendees |
Aubin Archambault |
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The impossibility of perpetual motion, a system at equilibrium from which an infinite amount of energy could be extracted, was noticed several times in history. However, this impossibility was only understood in the 19th century, with the beginning of thermodynamic and the statement of the second law of thermodynamics. The usual laws of thermodynamics are robust and can be applied to a large range of macroscopic systems. However, when thermal fluctuations are on the same scale as the studied phenomena, these laws only describe the average behaviour. While it is impossible to macroscopically extract work from thermal fluctuations, this limit can be overcome by adapting the protocols based on the outcome of a measurement. I will present an experimental realisation of information engine, monothermal cycles, whose evolution is determined by the result of a measurement on the system. I show that it is then possible to extract energy from thermal fluctuations, seemingly breaking the second of thermodynamics, and optimise the engine to maximise the work extraction in different regimes. These measurements are used to test recent theoretical works and explore the underdamped regime, which is usually harder to study.