The Szilard Engine

The Szilard engine is a thought experiment illustrating how measurement and information can seemingly do work like a traditional engine. It consists of a single particle in a box, a divider, and a sensor that detects the particle's position. When the sensor finds the particle on one side, the divider is moved to extract energy, converting information into work. This concept links thermodynamics and information theory, showing that knowledge about a system can be harnessed to produce useful energy, but also emphasizing that information processing has physical costs and limitations.