TITLE:
Catch-22 in Second Law, Part 2 Optimizing MIM Diode, Rectifying Johnson-Nyquist Noise
AUTHORS:
George Samuel Levy
KEYWORDS:
Thermodynamic Threshold Optimization, Entropy, Time-Reversal Symmetry, Mesoscale, MIM Diode, MIIM Diode, Johnson-Nyquist, ExB Thermoelectric Effect, Second Law, Free Energy
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics,
Vol.14 No.10,
October
20,
2026
ABSTRACT: Foremost arguments supporting the second law rely on a false dichotomy between the microscale (μ-Scale), where negentropy can be generated by T-Odd symmetry but is inaccessible due to the absence of thermodynamic interaction, and the macroscale (M-Scale), where massive coarse graining provides interactions but erases the negentropy. Operating at the mesoscale (m-Scale) bypasses this catch-22. Some negentropy is destroyed but the rest is harvested. A MIM diode used as a vehicle in this analysis is inherently spatially asymmetric but becomes T-Odd symmetric when a time-varying signal—such as the Johnson-Nyquist noise—modulates its asymmetry, causing carriers to move preferentially in one direction. An index of asymmetry Zasym quantifying the operating position along m-Scale is defined as the ratio of the free energy generated by the T-Odd symmetry to the energy dissipation due to T-Even symmetry. Power output to the load is maximized at the geometric mean of m-Scale where Zasym = 1. Thermal energy converted to electricity sent to the load cannot exceed 1/4 of the free energy provided by the work function difference at the gap of the diode and cannot exceed 1.0829kBT per carrier. The law is extended to ΔS ≥ −Φ/4T for m-Scale operation. This result is unopposed by theories and experiments all directed to μ-Scale and M-Scale, and has been previously reproduced twice—in optimizing Maxwell’s Demon and the E × B Thermoelectric Effect. A MIM diode rectifying Johnson-Nyquist noise at 300 K generates up to 14.43 mW/mm2 or nearly 42.8 times the power per unit area of a solar cell.