Question regarding Heat Transfer in Carnot Engine

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
1 reply · 2K views
Harikesh_33
Messages
24
Reaction score
4
***A Carnot Engine*** is a theoretical engine unlike a Sterling Engine which can be made practically.

Some of the drawbacks of Carnot Engine are,

1)The Heat Transfer occurs only during isothermal process(compression and expansion),this is because the working material (ie) gas or fuel used, if it's at a different temperature(technically the temperature of the working material is infinitesimally smaller)than the hot reservoir ,then some amount of heat get's used up to attain thermal equilibrium (ie) it's irreversibly lost .

Now my question is ,if ##Q_H## is the heat supplied by the #Heat# #Reservoir# ,then the heat is used to do some work of say ##dW=pdV## and if entire heat ##Q_H## gets used as Work, then how does it transfer ##Q_c## amount of heat to the cold reservoir?

And it seems so odd to say that once the Isothermal processes are over ,it expands /contracts adiabatically ,are we physically removing the sources here ? **Is the only use of Adiabatic process in ***"Imaginary Carnot Cycle"*** to produce a proper cycle**?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
Harikesh_33 said:
Now my question is ,if ##Q_H## is the heat supplied by the #Heat# #Reservoir# ,then the heat is used to do some work of say ##dW=pdV## and if entire heat ##Q_H## gets used as Work, then how does it transfer ##Q_c## amount of heat to the cold reservoir?
The amount of work is ##Q_H - Q_C##, not just ##Q_H##.

Harikesh_33 said:
are we physically removing the sources here ? **Is the only use of Adiabatic process in ***"Imaginary Carnot Cycle"*** to produce a proper cycle**?
Yes, you are shutting down the heat transfer process, Something similar to closing a valve to shut down a mass flow. Something very difficult to achieve physically, most likely impossible at high speed.
 
Reply
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: hutchphd