English

The many avatars of Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency

Statistical Mechanics 2021-02-18 v1 Classical Physics

Abstract

Efficiency at maximum power output of irreversible heat engines has attracted a lot of interest in recent years. We discuss the occurance of a particularly simple and elegant formula for this efficiency in various different models. The so-called Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency is given by the square-root formula: 1Tc/Th1-\sqrt{T_c/T_h}, where TcT_c and ThT_h are the cold and hot reservoir temperatures.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1903.04381,
  title  = {The many avatars of Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency},
  author = {Ramandeep S. Johal and Arun M. Jayannavar},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1903.04381},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

latex: 15 pages, four figures; pedagogical article