Scientists report fundamental asymmetry between heating and cooling

Re:Scientists report fundamental asymmetry between heating a... by andrewflnr on Monday January 22, 2024 @10:02PM (#39099080)

The phys.org article and science paper text are both impenetrable for different reasons (though I don't blame the paper). Can anyone explain this result like I have a college degree but not in physics? I'm especially interested in what the actual difference in "microscopic" process is between heating and cooling.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Scientists report fundamental asymmetry between heating a... by AndrewKemendo on Monday January 22, 2024 @10:06PM (#39099104)

They experimentally demonstrated that it takes significantly more energy to move a microparticle the same distance when cooled than the amount of energy it would take when heated.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Scientists report fundamental asymmetry between heating a... by albertgoeswoof on Tuesday January 23, 2024 @04:59AM (#39101477)

Cold things are harder to move than hot things

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Scientists report fundamental asymmetry between heating a... by kamray23 on Tuesday January 23, 2024 @08:24AM (#39102995)

How can that be possible, though?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Scientists report fundamental asymmetry between heating a... by AYBABTME on Tuesday January 23, 2024 @09:50AM (#39104041)

If something is already bumping around randomly, all you need to do is constrain the bumping along some dimensions and it will move less randomly and more frequently toward the remaining free dimensions.

That's easier than having to provide all the energy to do the movement directly.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Scientists report fundamental asymmetry between heating a... by quux on Tuesday January 23, 2024 @09:54AM (#39104095)

Constrained energy basically acts as mass right? So would an intuitive way to think of this be that the warm particle has more energy, but moving it confines where that energy can be so it behaves as if it has more mass?

[ Parent | on HN ]