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Related Concept Videos

The Carnot Cycle01:30

The Carnot Cycle

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Converting work to heat is an irreversible process, and the purpose of a heat engine is to reverse the effect partially. Heat engines aim to increase the efficiency of the reversal, that is, maximize the work retrieved from heat. If the efficiency of a heat engine were 100%, it would imply reversing the process completely without introducing any other effect. Thus, it would violate the second law of thermodynamics.
What could be the theoretical limit to the efficiency of a heat engine? The...
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Entropy01:18

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The first law of thermodynamics is quantitatively formulated via an equation relating the internal energy of a system, the heat exchanged by it, and the work done on it. A quantitative formulation of the second law of thermodynamics leads to defining a state function, the entropy.
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Entropy02:39

Entropy

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Salt particles that have dissolved in water never spontaneously come back together in solution to reform solid particles. Moreover, a gas that has expanded in a vacuum remains dispersed and never spontaneously reassembles. The unidirectional nature of these phenomena is the result of a thermodynamic state function called entropy (S). Entropy is the measure of the extent to which the energy is dispersed throughout a system, or in other words, it is proportional to the degree of disorder of a...
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Heat Engines01:10

Heat Engines

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A heat engine is a device used to extract heat from a source and then convert it into mechanical work used for various applications. For example, a steam engine on an old-style train can produce the work needed for driving the train.
Whenever we consider heat engines (and associated devices such as refrigerators and heat pumps), we do not use the standard sign convention for heat and work. For convenience, we assume that the symbols Qh, Qc, and W represent only the amounts of heat transferred...
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The Carnot Cycle and the Second Law of Thermodynamics01:20

The Carnot Cycle and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

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The Carnot engine works between two heat reservoirs of fixed temperatures. The Carnot cycle begs the following question: Is it possible to devise a heat engine that is more efficient than a Carnot engine between two fixed temperatures? The answer lies in designing a Carnot refrigerator.
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Statements of the Second Law of Thermodynamics01:15

Statements of the Second Law of Thermodynamics

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The second law of thermodynamics can be stated in several different ways, and all of them can be shown to imply the others. The Clausius’ statement of the second law of thermodynamics is based on the irreversibility of spontaneous heat flow. It states that heat will not flow from the colder body to the hotter body unless some other process is involved. Additionally, as per the Kelvin’s statement, it is impossible to convert the heat from a single source into work without any other...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Quantum State Engineering of Light with Continuous-wave Optical Parametric Oscillators
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Optimal efficiency of a noisy quantum heat engine.

Dionisis Stefanatos1

  • 13 Omirou St., Sami, Kefalonia 28080, Greece.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|August 15, 2014
PubMed
Summary

We optimized quantum heat engine efficiency under noise using optimal control. Ideal performance is achievable even with phase damping in the long-time limit, aiding in reaching absolute zero.

Area of Science:

  • Quantum thermodynamics
  • Optimal control theory
  • Noise in quantum systems

Background:

  • Quantum heat engines offer a pathway to novel cooling technologies.
  • Understanding and mitigating noise is crucial for efficient quantum device operation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To maximize the efficiency of a quantum heat engine operating under the Otto cycle.
  • To investigate the impact of amplitude and phase noise on engine performance.
  • To explore methods for retrieving ideal performance in noisy quantum systems.

Main Methods:

  • Application of optimal control techniques to quantum heat engines.
  • Analysis of engine performance under amplitude damping and phase damping noise models.
  • Investigation of the adiabatic limit for noise mitigation.

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Related Experiment Videos

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Main Results:

  • Optimal control strategies were developed to enhance engine efficiency despite external noise.
  • Phase damping was shown to allow retrieval of ideal noiseless performance in the adiabatic limit.
  • The methodology is applicable to both quantum and classical harmonic oscillator systems.

Conclusions:

  • Optimal control is a powerful tool for improving quantum heat engine efficiency in realistic noisy environments.
  • The findings contribute to the development of advanced quantum refrigerators and cooling technologies.
  • The presented methods have broader implications for controlling complex thermodynamic processes.