Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Theoretisch-Physikalisches Institut, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.
Phys Rev E. 2017 Nov;96(5-1):052106. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.96.052106. Epub 2017 Nov 6.
Microscopic heat engines are microscale systems that convert energy flows between heat reservoirs into work or systematic motion. We have experimentally realized a minimal microscopic heat engine. It consists of a colloidal Brownian particle optically trapped in an elliptical potential well and simultaneously coupled to two heat baths at different temperatures acting along perpendicular directions. For a generic arrangement of the principal directions of the baths and the potential, the symmetry of the system is broken, such that the heat flow drives a systematic gyrating motion of the particle around the potential minimum. Using the experimentally measured trajectories, we quantify the gyrating motion of the particle, the resulting torque that it exerts on the potential, and the associated heat flow between the heat baths. We find excellent agreement between the experimental results and the theoretical predictions.
微观热机是将储热库之间的能量流转换为功或系统运动的微尺度系统。我们已经实验实现了一个最小的微观热机。它由一个胶体布朗粒子组成，通过光学捕获在一个椭圆形的势阱中，并同时与两个处于不同温度的热浴耦合，这两个热浴沿着垂直方向作用。对于浴和势的主要方向的一般排列，系统的对称性被打破，使得热流驱动粒子围绕势最小点进行有规律的回旋运动。通过实验测量的轨迹，我们量化了粒子的回旋运动、它对势施加的扭矩以及在热浴之间的相关热流。我们发现实验结果与理论预测之间非常吻合。
