Efficiency of Engines

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The Carnot Cycle:

Photo Courtesy of hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu

When looking at any type of heat engine, one of the most focused on topics is the efficiency of the engine itself.

When focusing on the efficiency of the engine, one of the best models to consider is the Carnot cycle. The Carnot cycle consist of two isothermal processes and two adiabatic processes; this cycle is thought to be the most efficient heat engine that falls within the limitations of Physics. The model is seen by the second law of thermodynamics as the efficiency limit of any heat engine and is described by the formula:



Where η is the efficiency and T_H and T_C are the the Hot reservoir and Cold reservoir respectively