📋 Tender Overview
* Previously hidden information can be turned into an energetic resource on the microscopic scale * A double measurement of a particle in a complex environment can reveal this hidden information, enabling the extraction of useful work * These findings mark an important step towards microscopic information engines that can operate without a temperature difference or other macroscopic energy gradients Oct 16, 2026, 1:26:36 PM Dr. Manuel Maidorn , Max-Planck-Institut fur Dynamik und Selbstorganisation The feeling of hot and cold is created by a difference in the movement on a molecular level. Fast moving particles with higher energy cause the sensation of warmth whereas cold is cause by slowly moving molecules.The movement of such particles can be used to extract mechanical work using heat engines, as for example in the case of gasoline combustion in a car. On a microscopic level, however, not all information about the moving particles can be assessed directly which limits the amount of extractable work. In a combined experimental and theoretical study, physicists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) Gottingen and the University of Konstanz revealed how such previously hidden information can be exploited as a valuable thermodynamic resource. A demon governing the gate The research of the physicists was inspired by a thought experiment dating back more than 150 years. James Maxwell proposed two reservoirs with equal temperatures separated by a gate. In the experiment, the faster moving molecules could pass the gate in one direction whereas slower moving particle could only pass it into the other, creating a temperature difference. To distinguish between the two, information on each particle must be available. A fictional creature soon called Maxwell demon would then exploit the information on the particles and decide which one could pass in which direction. This setup challenged the second law of thermodynamics as it suggested that work could be extracted from a system in thermal equilibrium.Nowadays, we assign a thermodynamic value to the information itself, resolving this apparent paradox, says Sarah Loos, group leader at MPI-DS. Such information thus can be seen as a physical resource that can be converted into work, explains Clemens Bechinger, professor at the university on Konstanz.This insight has inspired so-called microscopic information engines that are powered by information rather than by temperature differences such as conventional heat engines. Using information as fuel for microscopic enginesUnlike in ideal model conditions, microscopic information engines often operate in a complex environment, such as polymer solutions, biological fluids, and other structured materials. The demon is therefore lacking information as the internal dynamics of the surrounding network cannot be observed directly. The scientists now showed how this information can be increased. In their experiments, they confined a microscopic particle inside a complex liquid and analyzed its interaction with the environment.We measured the particle twice with a defined temporal delay in between, explains Bechinger. In this way, we can gain access to otherwise hidden environmental dynamics, ultimately increasing the amount of exploitable work, Loos continues.The current study therefore reveals a way to harness energy from degrees of freedom that remain inaccessible to direct observation. This is particularly relevant at microscopic length scales, where maintaining stable thermal gradients becomes increasingly difficult. Instead, microscopic engines could use information as a genuine thermodynamic resource. Contact for scientific information: sarah.loos@ds.mpg.de Original Publication: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-026-03442-w Source: https://idw-online.de/de/news879256
