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Carnot Cycles

PV Diagram for a Carnot Cycle

PV Diagram for a Carnot Cycle

PV diagram for a Carnot cycle, employing only reversible isothermal and adiabatic processes. Heat transfer Qh occurs into the working substance during the isothermal path AB, which takes place at constant temperature Th. Heat transfer Qc occurs out of the working substance during the isothermal path CD, which takes place at constant temperature Tc. The net work output W equals the area inside the path ABCDA. Also shown is a schematic of a Carnot engine operating between hot and cold reservoirs at temperatures Th and Tc.

Source

    Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:

    "OpenStax College, College Physics. January 16, 2015."
    http://cnx.org/content/m42235/latest/?collection=col11406/latest OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.

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  • the second law of thermodynamics
  • heat engine
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