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Realization of Maxwell’s Hypothesis: A Heat-Electric Conversion in Contradiction to the Kelvin Statement

Submitted:

12 February 2019

Posted:

15 February 2019

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Abstract
In a vacuum tube, two identical and parallel Ag-O-Cs surfaces, A and B, with a work function 0.8eV, ceaselessly emit thermal electrons at room temperature. The thermal electrons are controlled by a static uniform magnetic field (a magnetic demon), and the number of electrons migrate from A to B exceeds the one from B to A (or vice versa). The net migration from A to B quickly results in a charge distribution, with A charged positively and B negatively. A potential difference between A and B emerges, and the tube outputs an electric current and a power to a load (a resistance, e.g.). The ambient air is a single heat reservoir in the experiment, and all the heat extracted by the tube from the air is converted into electric energy without producing other effects. We believe the experiment is in contradiction to the Kelvin statement of the second law.
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