Carnot cycle

American  

noun

Thermodynamics.

1. an ideal cycle of reversible engine operations in which a substance at one temperature is compressed adiabatically to a second temperature, expanded isothermally at the second temperature, expanded adiabatically from the second temperature to the first temperature, and compressed isothermally at the first temperature.

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Carnot cycle British  

noun

1. an idealized reversible heat-engine cycle giving maximum efficiency and consisting of an isothermal expansion, an adiabatic expansion, an isothermal compression, and an adiabatic compression back to the initial state

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Etymology

Origin of Carnot cycle

After N. L. S. Carnot

Example Sentences

The second law of thermodynamics can be restated in terms of the Carnot cycle, and so what Carnot actually discovered was this fundamental law.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Figure 15.23 shows the PV diagram for a Carnot cycle.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Any heat engine employing the Carnot cycle is called a Carnot engine.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Any engine that uses the Carnot cycle enjoys the maximum theoretical efficiency.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

It will be recognized that this is the Carnot cycle, and the efficiency E is the maximum possible between the temperature limits in accordance with the well-known second law of thermo-dynamics.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various