Does hot water freeze faster than cold water? Examining the Mpemba effect
physicsquantumthermodynamicsmpemba
Abstraction: Quantum Mpemba effect demonstrated in quantum dot systems
Key points:
- Mpemba effect: non-monotonic initial temperature dependence of freezing time (hot can freeze faster than cold)
- Kyoto University and TUAT researchers demonstrated the thermal quantum Mpemba effect in quantum dot systems
- Setup: two quantum dot systems connected to a heat bath — one with current flowing, one at equilibrium — both quenched to low temperature
- Effect confirmed when the initially hotter copy crossed the cooler copy's temperature trajectory before reaching equilibrium ("identity reversal")
- Results held across wide parameter ranges including reservoir temperatures and chemical potentials
- Published in Physical Review Letters (DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.080402)
Connections: Kyoto University · Mpemba Effect · Quantum Physics · Thermodynamics
Source: https://phys.org/news/2023-08-hot-faster-cold-mpemba-effect.html