Work of Carnot Engine integral

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the calculation of work done by an ideal Carnot engine, specifically focusing on the integral representation of the area enclosed by isotherms and adiabatic curves in a P-V graph. Participants explore the mathematical transformations and integration techniques involved in this context.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the choice of transformations \( u \) and \( v \) and the reasoning behind the area function \( f(u,v)=1 \), suggesting that the area in the xy-plane is challenging to integrate due to curved sides.
  • Another participant proposes that the area can be calculated as a difference between integrals of the upper and lower curves, emphasizing that the extreme points along the x-axis are the same for both sets of curves.
  • A participant expresses uncertainty about the correctness of a specific integral derivation, noting that the integrals do not converge when integrated to infinity, although numerical approximations may be possible.
  • One participant seeks clarification on the meaning of the variable \( x \) in the context of the discussion.
  • Another participant suggests that \( x \) represents volume and \( y \) represents pressure, proposing that perturbation methods might be applicable in this scenario.
  • A participant questions the rationale behind integrating from \( 0 \) to \( \infty \) in the context of the work done by the Carnot engine.
  • One participant expresses curiosity about the integral calculation itself.
  • A later reply raises a speculative question about constructing a proof of the 3rd Law of Thermodynamics based on the non-convergence of the integral at infinity, suggesting it implies infinite work is needed to reach absolute zero.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various viewpoints on the integration methods and the interpretation of variables, indicating that multiple competing views remain without a clear consensus on the correct approach or interpretation.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions regarding the assumptions behind the transformations used, the convergence of integrals, and the definitions of the variables involved in the discussion.

mathnerd15
Messages
109
Reaction score
0
I'm curious how do you choose the u and v transformations here to be equal to the constants and why is the f(u,v)=1 for the area- because you are summing infinitesimal x's and y's? I see that the area in xy is difficult to integrate because the sides are curved. is the transformation proven somewhere?
problem statement: the work done by an ideal Carnot engine is equal to the area enclosed by two isotherms and adiabatic curves. [tex]xy=a, xy=b, xy^{1.4}=c, xy^{1.4}=d[/tex][tex]\begin{bmatrix}\frac{\partial x}{\partial u}\ & \frac{\partial x}{\partial v}\\ \frac{\partial y}{\partial u} &\frac{\partial y}{\partial v}\\ \end{bmatrix}=\frac{5}{2v}, \int_{c}^{d}\int_{a}^{b}\frac{5}{2v}dudv=\frac{5}{2}(b-a)ln\frac{d}{c}[/tex]

by the way, how long does it take people to do these?
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
You don't do it as a double integral, but rather as a difference between integrals. You have a total of four curves, which you can integrate to get the area under the curve (down to the x axis), then you take the sum of the upper isotherm and adiabat, and you substract the lower isotherm and adiabat, and what is left is the area enclosed by the curves.

The reason you can do that is that the extreme points along x are the same for the upper curves and the lower curves.
 
thanks very much! do you mean this derivation/equation isn't correct?

[tex][\int_{0}^{\infty}\frac{a-b}{x}dx+\int_{0}^{\infty }\frac{c^{5/7}-d^{5/7}}{x^{5/7}}dx]... \int_{0}^{1000}(\frac{1}{x})^{\frac{5}{7}}dx\approx25.189[/tex]
but then the integrals don't converge if you integrate to infinity though you can get numerical approximations...in some cases the adiabatic curves will be between the 2 hyperbolae
 
Last edited:
I don't understand what ##x## represents.
 
as you know the isotherms seem to be represented by T(P,V)=xy=k graphs of constant temperature so I'd guess x is volume, y is pressure and on the P-V graph the adiabats asymptotically approach both the V and P axes so perhaps perturbation methods could be useful?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiabatic_process
here it says for an ideal gas the work done is the integral of one adiabatic curve between 2 isotherms on a P-V graph
 
Last edited:
mathnerd15 said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiabatic_process
here it says for an ideal gas the work done is the integral of one adiabatic curve between 2 isotherms on a P-V graph
Exactly. So why are you integrating from ##0## to ##\infty##?
 
I was just curious about the integral calculation
 
can you construct a proof of the 3rd Law of Thermodynamics in this way since the integral doesn't converge at infinity it takes infinite work to transform a system into absolute zero state?
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
4K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
2K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
5K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
4K