the.com/carnot engine
the imaginary perfect engine that exists only to prove all real engines are lazy.
means a theoretical heat engine that converts heat into work at the maximum efficiency physics allows between two temperatures.
from named after sadi carnot, a french military engineer who in 1824 tried to figure out why steam engines wasted so much heat, and accidentally founded thermodynamics.
efficiency formula1 minus cold temp over hot temp, in kelvin
cycle stepstwo isothermal, two adiabatic processes, always reversible
real enginesnone ever reach carnot efficiency, not one
carnot died youngcholera at 36, most notes burned afterward
for instance
steam engine — carnot analyzed these to find heat's theoretical speed limit
power plant turbines — engineers benchmark real output against carnot's ceiling
carnot cycle diagrams — standard pressure-volume plot in every thermo textbook