Carnot Cycle

Carnot cycle is the most efficient heat engine cycle, it consists of two isothermal processes and two adiabatic processes. It is the most efficient heat engine cycle allowed by physical laws. According to the second law of thermodynamics all the supplied heat in a heat engine can be used to do work, the Carnot efficiency sets the limiting value on the fraction of the heat which can be so used. Carnot cycle is an idealization, as no real engine processes are reversible and all real physical processes involve some increase in entropy and to get the Carnot efficiency, the processes involved in the heat engine cycle must be reversible and involve no change in entropy. The temperatures in the Carnot efficiency expression must be expressed in Kelvins. The conceptual value of the Carnot cycle is that it establishes the maximum possible efficiency for an engine cycle which is operating between TH and TC. In a Carnot cycle the heat transfer into the engine in the isothermal process is too slow to be of practical value that’s why it is not a practical engine cycle. Therefore it is suggested not to install a Carnot engine in your car; while it would increase your gas mileage, you would be passed on the highway by pedestrians.

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