Understanding the Carnot cycle

In summary, the Carnot cycle is a thermodynamic cycle that was originally formulated by Carnot himself. It involves a working fluid undergoing four stages (isothermal expansion, adiabatic expansion, isothermal compression, and adiabatic compression) and returning to its original state. However, Carnot also added an additional isothermal expansion from a position between the adiabatic expansion and compression stages. This may have been due to his contemplation of a real experimental setup, but the PV-diagram version of the Carnot cycle is considered the ideal situation.
  • #1
Omar Nagib
4
0
750px-Carnot_cycle_p-V_diagram.png
This P-V diagram summarizes the Carnot cycle. Given a working fluid whose state ##(P,V,T)## is ##(P_1,V_1,T_1)## (at point 1) where ##PV=nRT##, the working fluid undergoes a cycle of four stages and again retrieve its original state of ##(P_1,V_1,T_1)##, that is it gets back again to point 1 again.

What puzzles me though is Carnot cycle as was originally formulated by Carnot himself.
This figure is from Carnot's original work Reflections on the motive power of fire, where he introduces Carnot cycle and Carnot engine for the first time(page 63).

CarEng.JPG
So the cycle proceeds according to him like this:

1)The working fluid initially is confined in the region ##abcd##, with temperature ##T_1##, the same as that of the hot reservoir A. The hot reservoir comes into contact with the fluid, and the fluid undergoes isothermal expansion, therefore the piston moves from ##cd## to ##ef##.

2)Then the reservoir is removed. And the fluid is left to undergo adiabatic expansion from ##ef## to ##gh##, where its temperature drops to ##T_2##.

3)The cold reservoir(body B) has temperature ##T_2##. At this stage the fluid is put into contact with the cold reservoir, and made to compress isothermally. So the piston moves from ##gh## to ##cd## at constant temperature ##T_2##.

4)The cold reservoir is then removed, and the gas is made to compress adiabatically from ##cd## to ##ik##, and its temperature increases from ##T_2## to ##T_1##.

5)Then the fluid is made to contact the hot reservoir and expands from ##ik## to ##ef## at constant temperature ##T_1##

6) repeat steps 3,4,5,6,3,4,5,6 and so on.

He says such a cycle produces the maximum work.

My question:

The Carnot cycle in the P-V diagram proceeds like this :

original state##(P_1,V_1,T_1)##-->isothermal expansion-->adiabatic expansion-->isothermal compression-->adiabatic compression-->original state ##(P_1,V_1,T_1)## again.

What Carnot stated is this:

original state ##(P_1,V_1,T_1)##-->isothermal expansion-->adiabatic expansion-->isothermal compression-->adiabatic compression--> isothermal expansion again(from ##ik##)--> original state ##(P_1,V_1,T_1)## again.

I don't understand why he added another isothermal expansion. The one that starts from ##ik## to ##ef##?

According to my understanding of the Carnot cycle, to match the diagram, he should've done the follwoing:

At the start of step 3, the fluid has temperature ##T_2## and is at ##gh##, it should be isothermally compressed and before reaching ##cd## it should be made to adiabatically compress from ##T_2## to ##T_1## from some position that is between ##gh## and ##cd## to position ##cd##, so that it gets back to its original state.
 
Science news on Phys.org
  • #2
Looks like Carnot was contemplating an experimental setup ... he needed another step to regain the initial state.
The PV-diagram version (you should draw the PV diagram for Carnot's example) is the ideal situation.
Just because a process is named for someone does not mean the modern version agrees with what they thought.
 

1. What is the Carnot cycle?

The Carnot cycle is a theoretical thermodynamic cycle that describes the most efficient way to convert heat into work. It consists of four reversible processes: isothermal expansion, adiabatic expansion, isothermal compression, and adiabatic compression.

2. What is the purpose of the Carnot cycle?

The purpose of the Carnot cycle is to understand the fundamental principles of thermodynamics and to determine the maximum possible efficiency of a heat engine. It serves as a theoretical benchmark for the performance of real-life engines and helps in the design and optimization of such systems.

3. How does the Carnot cycle work?

The Carnot cycle works by using a working fluid to absorb heat from a high-temperature source, expand and do work, and then release the remaining heat to a low-temperature sink. This process is repeated in a closed loop to continuously convert heat into work.

4. What are the limitations of the Carnot cycle?

The Carnot cycle is a theoretical idealization and cannot be achieved in practice due to various factors such as friction, heat loss, and limited heat transfer rates. It also assumes a perfectly reversible process, which is not possible in real systems. However, it serves as a useful benchmark for understanding the limitations of real-life engines.

5. How is the efficiency of the Carnot cycle calculated?

The efficiency of the Carnot cycle is calculated by dividing the work done by the heat absorbed from the high-temperature source. This efficiency is known as the Carnot efficiency and is given by the equation: Efficiency = (Thot - Tcold) / Thot, where Thot and Tcold are the temperatures of the high-temperature source and low-temperature sink, respectively.

Similar threads

Replies
1
Views
773
Replies
7
Views
1K
Replies
8
Views
12K
Replies
17
Views
2K
Replies
5
Views
1K
  • Thermodynamics
Replies
1
Views
1K
Replies
4
Views
1K
Replies
2
Views
1K
Back
Top