MINIMUM REQUIREMENT FOR 2ND LAW VIOLATION - A PARADOX REVISITED

A paradox has been posed that challenges the second law of thermodynam ics in a plasma blackbody environment [D. P. Sheehan, Phys. Plasmas 2, 1893 (1995)]. Laboratory experiments testing critical aspects of the paradox have supported theoretical predictions and have failed to reso lve the paradox in favor of the second law. In this article, the parad ox is sharpened and expanded in scope by identifying the crux of the p aradox and the general requirements for second law violation. It is fo und that for an electrically conducting probe immersed in a blackbody plasma and connected to ground through a load, the general requirement for second law violation is V(f)not equal 0, where V-f is the plasma floating potential. This requirement can be met by many natural and ma nmade plasmas. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S1070-664X(98) 03206-6]