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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Infrared Cloaking, Stealth, And The Second Law Of Thermodynamics, D. P. Sheehan
Infrared Cloaking, Stealth, And The Second Law Of Thermodynamics, D. P. Sheehan
Physics and Biophysics: Faculty Scholarship
Infrared signature management (IRSM) has been a primary aeronautical concern for over 50 years. Most strategies and technologies are limited by the second law of thermodynamics. In this article, IRSM is considered in light of theoretical developments over the last 15 years that have put the absolute status of the second law into doubt and that might open the door to a new class of broadband IR stealth and cloaking techniques. Following a brief overview of IRSM and its current thermodynamic limitations, theoretical and experimental challenges to the second law are reviewed. One proposal is treated in detail: a high …
Energy, Entropy And The Environment (How To Increase The First By Decreasing The Second To Save The Third), D. P. Sheehan
Energy, Entropy And The Environment (How To Increase The First By Decreasing The Second To Save The Third), D. P. Sheehan
Physics and Biophysics: Faculty Scholarship
Energy is the lifeblood of civilization, but inexpensive, high energy density sources are rapidly being depleted and their exploitation is severely degrading the environment. This paper explores a radical solution to this energy-environmental dilemma. In the last 10–15 years, the universality of the second law of thermodynamics has fallen into serious theoretical doubt [1–3].Should it prove experimentally violable, this would open the door to a nearly limitless reservoir of ubiquitous, clean, recyclable energy. If economical, it could precipitate paradigm shifts in energy production, utilization and politics. In this paper, recent challenges to the second law are reviewed, with focus given …