Related papers: Reflections of Sadi Carnot
The essence of the second law of classical thermodynamics is the `entropy principle' which asserts the existence of an additive and extensive entropy function, S, that is defined for all equilibrium states of thermodynamic systems and whose…
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…
The controversial existence of negative temperatures has stirred interesting debates that have reached the foundations of thermodynamics, including questions on the second law, the Carnot efficiency and the statistical definition of…
In this paper, unambiguous redefinitions of heat and work are presented for quantum thermodynamic systems. We will use genuine reasoning based on which Clausius originally defined work and heat in establishing thermodynamics. The change in…
The quantum analog of Carnot cycles in few-particle systems consists of two quantum adiabatic steps and two isothermal steps. This construction is formally justified by use of a minimum work principle. It is then shown, without relying on…
The Carnot theorem, one expression of the second law of thermodynamics, places a fundamental upper bound on the efficiency of heat engines operating between two heat baths. The Carnot theorem can be stated in a more generalized form for…
This paper is a non-technical, informal presentation of our theory of the second law of thermodynamics as a law that is independent of statistical mechanics and that is derivable solely from certain simple assumptions about adiabatic…
The Carnot cycle is a prototype of ideal heat engine to draw mechanical energy from the heat flux between two thermal baths with the maximum efficiency, dubbed as the Carnot efficiency $\eta_{\mathrm{C}}$. Such efficiency can only be…
It is believed that thermodynamic laws are associated with random processes occurring in the system and, therefore, deterministic mechanical systems cannot be described within the framework of the thermodynamic approach. In this paper, we…
A diagram that represents both conservation of energy and constancy of entropy in Carnot cycle.
In this work, the relationship between Carnot engine and Szil\'ard engine was discussed. By defining the available information about the temperature difference between two heat reservoirs, the Carnot engine was found to have a same physical…
This work consists in the theorical development on the analysis of the Thermodynamic Laws and thermodynamic systems in relative motion, according to the laws of Classical Mechanics. The difference of this work for many of the literature is…
After Helmholtz, the mechanical foundation of thermodynamics included the First Law $d E = \delta Q + \delta W$, and the first part of the Clausius heat theorem $\delta Q^\text{rev}/T = dS$. The resulting invariance of the entropy $S$ for…
We consider a class of quantum heat engines consisting of two subsystems interacting via a unitary transformation and coupled to two separate baths at different temperatures $T_h > T_c$. The purpose of the engine is to extract work due to…
The efficiency of cyclic heat engines is limited by the Carnot bound. This bound follows from the second law of thermodynamics and is attained by engines that operate between two thermal baths under the reversibility condition whereby the…
I present a formulation of the second law of thermodynamics in the presence of black holes which makes use of the efficiency of an ideal machine extracting heat cyclically from a black hole. The Carnot coefficient is found and it is shown…
We derive the law of entropy non-decrease directly from the Kelvin-Planck principle for simple and compound systems without using the Clausius inequality. A key of the derivation is a new formulation of entropy in terms of work by a Carnot…
A major part of the many thermally driven processes in our natural environment as well as in engineering solutions of Carnot-type machinery is based on the second law of thermodynamics (or principle of entropy increase). An interesting link…
The thermodynamics of quantum systems coupled to periodically modulated heat baths and work reservoirs is developed. By identifying affinities and fluxes, the first and second law are formulated consistently. In the linear response regime,…
Since its inception about two centuries ago thermodynamics has sparkled continuous interest and fundamental questions. According to the second law no heat engine can have an efficiency larger than Carnot's efficiency. The latter can be…