The Carnot cycle was first developed in the year 1824 by a French physicist named Sadi Carnot. It is an ideal cycle that basically laid the foundation for the second law of thermodynamics. The Carnot cycle also brought up the concept of reversibility. In TQ 9 of Unit 7, you have obtained expression for the work done in Carnot cycle depicted on an indicator diagram. We will extend this result to calculate the efficiency of Carnot engine and show that no engine can be more efficient than a Carnot engine. As mentioned earlier, thermodynamics is a phenomenological science and its laws need no proof. In fact, the second law of thermodynamics has been stated in two different but equivalent forms by Kelvin-Planck and Clausius. You will learn ... Carnot Cycle - HyperPhysics ... Carnot Cycle Learn about Carnot cycle, a theoretical cycle with the highest possible efficiency of all thermodynamic cycles. Find out the four processes, the pV and Ts diagrams, and the formula for thermal efficiency of a Carnot heat engine.
