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Carnot wins

\begin{figure}\begin{center}\mbox{\epsfig{file=carnotbest.eps,width=10truecm,angle=0}}
\end{center}\end{figure}

In the above the green engines/pumps are Carnot, and the brown ones are irreversible. Because the Carnot engine is reversible, if the engine efficiency is $\eta_C$, the pump efficiency is $1/\eta_C$. (See here for details.)

I) In the first case, a Carnot pump is driven by an engine. Overall, to avoid violating Clausius's statement of the second law, there must be no net heat transfer to the hot reservoir, so $Q_H'\ge Q_H$. Also, by conservation of energy, $Q_H-Q_C=Q'_H-Q'_C=W$. Thus

\begin{eqnarray*}
{W\over Q'_H}\!\!\!&=&\!\!\!{Q_H \over Q'_H}{W\over Q_H} \\
\hbox{so}\qquad \eta_{\rm engine} &\le& \eta_{\rm carnot}
\end{eqnarray*}



II) In the second case, a Carnot engine drives a pump. Now we need $Q_H\ge Q_H''$. Thus

\begin{eqnarray*}
{Q''_H\over W}\!\!\!&=&\!\!\!{Q''_H \over Q_H}{Q_H\over W} \\
\hbox{so}\qquad \eta_{\rm pump} &\le& {1\over\eta_{\rm carnot}}
\end{eqnarray*}



So no engine can be more efficient than a Carnot engine, and no pump can be more efficient than a Carnot pump.

If the brown pumps were in fact reversible, there could be no overall heat flow, since heat flow from a hot to a cold body is an irreversible process. In that case the inequalities would become equalities.

Thus any reversible engine working between two heat reservoirs has the same efficiency as any other.


next up previous contents index
Next: Efficiency of ideal gas Carnot cycle Previous: 2.3 Carnot cycles
Judith McGovern 2004-03-17