Entropy (Jun 2020)
Informational Reinterpretation of the Mechanics Notions and Laws
Abstract
The informational re-interpretation of the basic laws of the mechanics exploiting the Landauer principle is suggested. When a physical body is in rest or it moves rectilinearly with the constant speed, zero information is transferred; thus, the informational affinity of the rest state and the rectilinear motion with a constant speed is established. Inertial forces may be involved in the erasure/recording of information. The analysis of the minimal Szilard thermal engine as seen from the noninertial frame of references is carried out. The Szilard single-particle minimal thermal engine undergoes isobaric expansion relative to accelerated frame of references, enabling the erasure of 1 bit of information. The energy ΔQ spent by the inertial force for the erasure of 1 bit of information is estimated as Δ Q ≅ 5 3 k B T ¯ , which is larger than the Landauer bound but qualitatively is close to it. The informational interpretation of the equivalence principle is proposed: the informational content of the inertial and gravitational masses is the same.
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