May 2014
Intermediate to advanced
390 pages
11h 10m
English
The Carnot cycle, when acting as a heat engine, consists of the following four steps:
1. Reversible and isothermal expansion of the gas at the “hot” temperature, TH (isothermal heat addition). During this step (A to B in Figure A.1, 1 to 2 in Figure A.2), the expanding gas makes the piston do work on the surroundings. The gas expansion is propelled by the absorption of heat, designated Q1, from the high temperature reservoir.
