Thermodynamic speed limits on dynamic matter

Jason Green

Associate Professor of Chemistry & Physics
University of Massachusetts Boston

Wed, February 9, 2022 - 4:00 PM
Zoom Link:  https://cua.zoom.us/j/81982223956

Living systems have an incredible ability to form patterns, generate mechanical work, replicate structures, keep time, and quickly adapt to the unsteady states of their environment. To synthesize and engineer comparable systems, we need to understand the delicate balance between the speed of executing these functions and the thermodynamic cost of dissipation. The goal of this talk will be to show that there are thermodynamic limits on the rates of producing heat, work, and entropy away from equilibrium. These speed limits are classical uncertainty relations with a mathematical form that mirrors the Mandelstam–Tamm version of the time-energy uncertainty relation in quantum mechanics. Because of this parallel, they offer new ways to draw analogies with quantum mechanics, couple nonlinear dynamics and statistical physics, and make new inroads into longstanding challenges in nonequilibrium processes, regardless of their function.

PRESENTED ENTIRELY ON ZOOM:  https://cua.zoom.us/j/81982223956

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