Maxwell’s demon fails (thermodynamics)
Theorem.Maxwell’s demon fails (thermodynamics) — sorting N molecules gains N·k·ln2 of entropy but erasing the demon’s N-bit memory costs exactly that (Landauer), so ΔS_total ≥ 0.
Proof.sorting N molecules gains N·k·ln2 of entropy but erasing the demon’s N-bit memory costs exactly that (Landauer), so ΔS_total ≥ 0 for every N ≤ 10³ — the second law stands, the challenge cancels itself.
Checked by exact arithmetic over the stated finite range — a verified witness, evidence toward the claim, not a ∀-proof.
src/9/1/index.ts#discoveredTheoremsWaveTwentyOne
1 · Classification
bounded-witness — self-contained computation, no external lean
2 · Provenance
Documented theorem re-derived by exhaustive computation (humanityNovel=false); first-in-this-registry is the only sense of discovered.
Acknowledgment
"Maxwell’s demon fails (thermodynamics)" is a re-derivation, acknowledged to documented mathematics — the original proof is the prior art this re-derivation acknowledges; not new to humanity — the contribution is the reproducible computation discoveredTheoremsWaveTwentyOne.
- Prior art
- documented mathematics — the original proof is the prior art this re-derivation acknowledges
- Novelty
- not new to humanity — a re-derivation (humanityNovel = false)
- Contribution
- a reproducible computation (discoveredTheoremsWaveTwentyOne @ src/9/1) that re-derives the result at zero tokens — the contribution is the verifiable recomputation, NOT the theorem
3 · Reproducibility
Recompute from source: npm run theorems:verify recomputes discoveredTheoremsWaveTwentyOne (src/9/1/index.ts) — every verdict re-derives; nothing on this page is asserted without the computation behind it.