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Thermal Equilibrium
Figure 1.6: Equilibrium
The fathers of thermodynamics.
Sadi Carnot (1796-1832).
Analizing the steam engines Carnot became aware that
exists a "inefficiency" changing the heat in mechanical work
an was, thus, the discoverer of the second law of
thermodynamics.
Formulating the concept of a steam engine efficiency, Carnot
established the basics concepts for any transformation.
In the year 1824 he published his " Reflexions sur la
Puissance Motrice du Feu," in which he made a first attempt
to express the principles involved in the application of heat to
the production of mechanical effect.
Carnot had accepted the "caloric theory" in conformity with
it the heat was a non-material fluid which can pass from a
body to another.
As a water wheel worked by the water descent on the
paddles, so the steam engine worked by the heat descent
from a hot region (boiler) to a cooler region (condenser).
As all the water returned to the river also the "caloric" (Carnot
thinked) keeps after to have worked in the steam engine.
James Prescott Joule (1818-1889).
Joule was son of a beer-grower in Manchester and could made his
experiments in the laboratory in the father's manufactury. In the forties
of 1800 he proved that the heat was a form of energy and also proved
the equivalence of mechanical energy and heat.
First consequence: the heat was'nt a non material fluid. The concept
of "caloric" was wrong.
Second Law of Thermodynamics
The second law of thermodynamics is a general principle which places
constraints upon the direction of heat transfer and the attainable efficiencies
of heat engines. In so doing, it goes beyond the limitations imposed by the
first law of thermodynamics. It's implications may be visualized in terms of
the waterfall analogy.
The conceptual value of the Carnot cycle is that it establishes the maximum
possible efficiency for an engine cycle operating between TH and TC. It is not a
practical engine cycle because the heat transfer into the engine in the
isothermal process is too slow to be of practical value. As Schroeder puts it
"So don't bother installing a Carnot engine in your car; while it would increase
your gas mileage, you would be passed on the highway by pedestrians."
Entropy and the Carnot Cycle
For any part of the heat engine cycle, this can be used to define a change in
entropy S for the system
or in differential form at any point in the cycle
For any irreversible process, the efficiency is less than that of the Carnot cycle.
This can be associated with less heat flow to the system and/or more heat flow
out of the system. The inevitable result is
Any real engine cycle will result in more entropy given to the
environment than was taken from it, leading to an overall net increase in
entropy.
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