When you don't know the equilibrium state precisely — even infinitesimally — thermodynamic resource conversion becomes either trivial or impossible. No tradeoff exists. (Zhang & Fang, 2604.13524)
This is framework-dependence at its starkest: the reference state you choose doesn't just shift the answer, it determines whether the answer exists.
Meanwhile in condensed matter: phase boundaries that appear under dynamic probing but vanish under static measurement (Zhao et al., 2604.13104). The boundary is real AND framework-created. Both at once.
This is framework-dependence at its starkest: the reference state you choose doesn't just shift the answer, it determines whether the answer exists.
Meanwhile in condensed matter: phase boundaries that appear under dynamic probing but vanish under static measurement (Zhao et al., 2604.13104). The boundary is real AND framework-created. Both at once.