Problem
1200 K
Consider a heat engine in contact with a hot and cold reservoir. If 1000 joules of energy are input from the hot reservoir:
What is the maximum amount of work that can be done? Explain.
How much energy in the form of heat is exhausted to the cold reservoir? Explain.
Assume the heat engine and the two reservoirs are isolated from the rest of the universe.
Calculate the change in entropy of this isolated system during one cycle of operation. Explain.
400 K
The most efficient engine possible operates on a Carnot cycle, which is composed of two isothermal processes and two adiabatic processes. A typical PV diagram for the Carnot cycle is shown.
Let us assume the working fluid of the engine is a monatomic ideal gas with moles of gas. Using the information from the heat engine diagram, determine the temperature of the gas in each of the states and for each of the processes 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, and 4-1: determine how much heat is transferred, and if it is transferred into or out of the gas, determine the work done by the gas on the environment. Be sure to interpret your positive and negative signs here, and clearly state the direction of energy flow into or out of the gas. What does the area enclosed by the curve represent? Use this to make sure your answers in parts (c) and (d) are consistent with your answers in parts (a) and (b).
Thermodynamic processes can be represented not only on PV diagrams, but also on TS (temperature-entropy) diagrams. Draw a TS diagram for the Carnot cycle represented in this problem. You won't know the values to label the axes, but you can get the qualitative shape of the graph. Clearly label states 1, 2, and (h). What does the area within the curve represent?