A heat engine absorbs of heat from a hot reservoir at and rejects of heat to a cold…

PHYSICS · Subjective · A Level · Physics · Engineering physics · Engineering physics

Problem

A heat engine absorbs

6.0\times10^3\,\text{J}

of heat from a hot reservoir at

T_H = 500\,\text{K}

and rejects

2.5\times10^3\,\text{J}

of heat to a cold reservoir at

T_C = 300\,\text{K}

during each complete cycle. (a) Calculate the work done by the engine in one cycle. (b) Determine the actual thermal efficiency of the engine. (c) Calculate the maximum possible efficiency for any engine operating between

500\,\text{K}

and

300\,\text{K}

. (d) State, with numerical justification, whether the given engine is consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Related theory

Second Law of Thermodynamics
Second Law & Entropy
Heat Engines
Second law and Carnot cycle
Thermodynamics
Carnot engine

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