The Physics of Heat Engines
Isaac Hebert
UAF-Physics 212
November 25, 2009

Every time you jump in your car and start it up you are utilizing a heat engine. Heat engines are used everyday all over the world and there are many different types and designs of heat engines. These include sterling engines, gasoline(or petroleum) and diesel engines, steam engines, and many more. The definition of a heat engine is simple and can be defined by the first law of thermodynamics in very simple terms, a heat engine is a device that takes thermal energy and converts it to mechanical energy, or in other words, converts it to mechanical output that has the ability to do work. Throughout this website you will find a variety of information concerning the theoretical and applied physics of heat engines.


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Carnot Cycle
Otto Cycle
Rankine Cycle
Stirling Cycle
Bibliography