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doombanana
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Homework Statement
Two containers with fixed volume are each filled with n moles of a monatomic ideal gas with constant heat capacity. Initially, the volumes of gas are at temperatures [itex]T_1,i [/itex]and [itex]T_2,i[/itex]. What is the maximum amount of work that can be obtained by operating an engine between the two containers?
Homework Equations
Let [itex]T_1 > T_2[/itex]
(1) [itex]\eta = \frac{|dW|}{|dQ|} = 1 - \frac{T_2}{T_1}[/itex]
(2) [itex]|dQ| = -c_vdT_1[/itex] because |dT1| is negative so |dQ| = -dQ
(3) [itex]c_v = \frac{3}{2}nR[/itex]
The Attempt at a Solution
Substituting (2) into (1) and solving for |dw|gives
[itex]|dW| = -c_v \Big(1 - \frac{T_2}{T_1}\Big)dT_1[/itex]
I need to integrate this somehow, but both T1 and T2 are changing so I'm not sure how to do this. I'm assuming there's a relationship between T1 and T2 that I can use that will allow me to integrate? Any help pointing me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.