Even though the second law of thermodynamics holds the supreme position among the laws of nature, as stated by many distinguished scientists, notably Eddington and Einstein, its position appears to be also quite peculiar. Given the atomic nature of matter, whose behavior is well described by statistical physics, the second law could not hold unconditionally, but only statistically. It is not an absolute law. As a result of this, in the present paper we try to argue that we have not (...) yet any truly cogent argument to exclude its possible macroscopic violation. Even Landauer's information-theoretic principle seems to fall short of the initial expectations of being the fundamental ‘physical’ reason of all Maxwell's demons failure. Here we propose a modified Szilard engine which operates without any steps in the process resembling the creation or destruction of information. We argue that the information-based exorcisms must be wrong, or at the very least superfluous, and that the real physical reason why such engines cannot work lies in the ubiquity of thermal fluctuations.We see in the above peculiar features the main motivation and rationale for pursuing exploratory research to challenge the second law, which is still ongoing and probably richer than ever. A quite thorough description of some of these challenges is also given. (shrink)

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 to one for which laboratory experiments are planned. Possible consequences of its violation for technology, society and the environment are explored. Keywords: entropy—energy—second law of thermodynamics—climate change—environment—ecology—energy economy—famine. (shrink)