Carnot cycle
Carnot cycle In thermodynamics, a four-stage cycle (named after Sadi Carnot) involving alternate adiabatic and istothermal processes. The former take place without gaining or losing heat, the latter without changing temperature. For example: 1) adiabatic compression of a gas increases its temperature. 2) the gas is then expanded isothermally. 3) Adiabatic exapansion of the gas lowers the temperature. 4) The gas is compressed isothermally, lowering the temperature and completing the cycle. In practical terms, it demonstrates the impossibility of total efficiency in heat engines. Some heat energy always remains unused in a ‘cold sink’. In an internal combustion engine, this can be thought of as the engine itself.
More From encyclopedia.com
Electric Power Plants , Background
An engine is a machine that converts energy into useful work: burning coal to turn the drive shaft of a power plant generator, for example… Heat , Heat
Heat is the energy that flows between two objects because of a difference in temperature. Heat always flows from a body at a higher temperature… Temperature , In everyday terms, temperature is a measure of the "hotness" or "coldness" of a substance. More technically, temperature indicates the direction in w… William Francis Giauque , Giauque, William Francis
GIAUQUE, WILLIAM FRANCIS
(b. Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, 12 May 1895; d. Berkeley, California, 28 March 1982)
Giauque re… Nicolas Leonard Sadi Carnot , Carnot, Nicolas Léonard Sadi
Carnot, Nicolas Léonard Sadi
thermodynamics.
The eldest son of Lazare Carnot, Sadi was born in the Palais du Petit-Luxem… Temperature Regulation , temperature regulation The human body is a heat-generating object. Even at complete rest at a comfortable temperature, the vital functions of the bod…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
Carnot cycle