Related papers: Carnot's theorem and Szil\'ard engine
Macroscopic cyclic heat engines have been a major motivation for the emergence of thermodynamics. In the last decade, cyclic heat engines that have large fluctuations and operate at finite time were studied within the more modern framework…
Szil\'ard's information engine is a canonical example in the field of thermodynamics of information. We realize experimentally a macroscopic many-particle Szil\'ard engine that consists of active particles and use it to lift a mass against…
Sadi Carnot's theorem regarding the maximum efficiency of heat engines is considered to be of fundamental importance in thermodynamics. This theorem famously states that the maximum efficiency depends only on the temperature of the heat…
A cyclic thermodynamic heat engine runs most efficiently if it is reversible. Carnot constructed such a reversible heat engine by combining adiabatic and isothermal processes for a system containing an ideal gas. Here, we present an example…
A new universality in optimization of trade-off between power and efficiency for low-dissipation Carnot cycles is presented. It is shown that any trade-off measure expressible in terms of efficiency and the ratio of power to its maximum…
We consider both Otto and Diesel heat engine cycles running upon the working substances modeled by the van der Waals fluid as a simple non-ideal gas model. We extensively perform the efficiency study in these model engines. Then we find…
We study the energestics of a thermal motor driven by temperature differences, which consists of Brownian particles moving in a sawtooth potential with an external load where the viscous medium is alternately in contact with hot and cold…
We present a (random) mechanical model consisting of two lottery-like reservoirs at altitude $E_h$ and $E_l<E_h$, respectively, in the earth's gravitational field. Both reservoirs consist of $N$ possible ball locations. The upper reservoir…
Heat engines should ideally have large power output, operate close to Carnot efficiency and show constancy, i.e., exhibit only small fluctuations in this output. For steady-state heat engines, driven by a constant temperature difference…
The interplay between quantum-mechanical properties, such as coherence, and classical notions, such as energy, is a subtle topic at the forefront of quantum thermodynamics. The traditional Carnot argument limits the conversion of heat to…
It is common in many thermodynamic textbooks to illustrate the Carnot theorem through the usage of diverse state equations for gases, paramagnets, and other simple thermodynamic systems. As it is well-known, the universality of the Carnot…
The thermodynamics of the Curzon-Ahlborn engine, which is a prototype of endoreversible engines, is elucidated. In particular, their criterion for adiabatic equilibration is revised. The so-called irreversibility of endoreversible engines…
In 1975, Courzon and Ahlborn studied a Carnot engine with thermal losses and got an expression for its efficiency that described better the performance of actual heat machines than the traditional result due to Carnot. In their original…
Following the result by Skrzypczyk et al., arXiv:1009.0865, that certain self-contained quantum thermal machines can reach Carnot efficiency, we discuss the functioning of self-contained quantum thermal machines and show, in a very general…
Combining two disparate lines of thought like thermodynamics and quantum mechanics yields surprising results. The resulting idea of quantum thermodynamic engines holds promise for harvesting novel sources of energy of purely quantum origin,…
Work extraction from a heat engine in a cycle by a quantum mechanical device (quantum "piston") is analyzed. The standard definition of work fails in the quantum domain. The correct extractable work and its efficiency bound are shown to…
Nucleic acids theoretically possess a Szilard engine function that can convert the energy associated with the Shannon entropy of molecules for which they have coded recognition, into the useful work of geometric reconfiguration of the…
The widely debated feasibility of thermodynamic machines achieving Carnot efficiency at finite power has been convincingly dismissed. Yet, the common wisdom that efficiency can only be optimal in the limit of infinitely-slow processes…
A heat engine operating on the basis of the Carnot cycle is considered, where the mechanical work performed is dissipated within the engine at the temperature of the warmer isotherm and the resulting heat is added to the engine together…
We revisit the relationship between the Nernst theorem and the Kelvin-Planck statement of the second law. We propose that the exchange of entropy uniformly vanishes as the temperature goes to zero. The analysis of this assumption shows that…