Kinetic Characterization of Heat Bath and the Energetics of Thermal Ratchet Models

Abstract

Langevin equations have been employed to describe thermally fluctuating systems, such as thermal ratchet models . Their role of the heat bath in these contexts has not been clearly understood. We introduce an approach to this issue and, by using it, propose a method to study the energetics of those models. As a example, we calculate the efficiency of energy conversion of “Feynman's ratchet”.