Question

What is a carnot engine ? describe the different parts of the carnot heat engine.

Answer 1

We have to write as well as describe the parts about that type of engine whose efficiency is independent of the nature of the working substance and it is only dependent on the temperature of the hot as well as cold reservoirs.

Complete step-by-step solution:
The Carnot heat engine is a theoretical thermodynamic cycle that was proposed by Leonard Carnot. Also, the Carnot heat engine is an ideal, reversible, and most efficient heat engine that converts heat energy into mechanical energy as well as it has an ideal gas as a working substance. Therefore, it gives the estimate of the maximum possible efficiency that a heat engine can possess during the conversion process of heat into work and conversely, working between two reservoirs.
The diagram shown below shows us the working of a Carnot heat engine. It consists of the following parts:
(i) Source
It is a hot body that is kept at a constant temperature${{T}_{1}}$. It has an infinite thermal capacity and any amount of heat can be drawn from it at a constant temperature${{T}_{1}}$ that is, its temperature will remain the same even after drawing any amount of heat from it.
(ii) Sink
It is a cold body that is kept at a constant lower temperature ${{T}_{2}}$. Its thermal capacity is also infinite which means that any amount of heat added to it will not increase its temperature.
(iii) Working substance
An Ideal gas is contained in a cylinder with perfectly non-conducting walls and perfectly conducting bases.
(iv) Insulated pad:
In one cycle of operation, the gas in the cylinder has to expand and compress adiabatically. To carry out adiabatic processes, the cylinder is placed on an insulated pad to make it perfectly insulating.

Note: Also, note that the Carnot cycle is an ideal as well as a theoretical cycle as it cannot be possible in reality but with the help of it one is able to estimate the maximum efficiency of a real engine.