 This technique is widely described as a "Maxwell's demon" because it realizes Maxwell's process of creating a temperature difference by sorting high and low energy atoms into different containers.However, scientists have pointed out that it is not a true Maxwell's demon in the sense that it does not violate the second law of thermodynamics; it does not result in a net decrease in entropy and cannot be used to produce useful energy.This is because the process requires more energy from the laser beams than could be produced by the temperature difference generated.