Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

The Carnot Cycle01:30

The Carnot Cycle

3.1K
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...
3.1K
Heat Engines01:10

Heat Engines

3.0K
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...
3.0K
Efficiency of The Carnot Cycle01:16

Efficiency of The Carnot Cycle

2.8K
The hypothetical Carnot cycle consists of an ideal gas subjected to two isothermal and two adiabatic processes. Since the internal energy of an ideal gas depends only on its temperature, which is the same before and after the completion of the Carnot cycle, there is no change in its internal energy. Hence, using the first law of thermodynamics, the total heat exchanged by the ideal gas equals the total work done. Thus, we can quantify the efficiency of the Carnot cycle via the heat exchanged...
2.8K
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II01:20

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II

3.4K
In convection, thermal energy is carried by the large-scale flow of matter. Ocean currents and large-scale atmospheric circulation, which result from the buoyancy of warm air and water, transfer hot air from the tropics toward the poles and cold air from the poles toward the tropics. The Earth’s rotation interacts with those flows, causing the observed eastward flow of air in the temperate zones. Convection dominates heat transfer by air, and the amount of available space for the airflow...
3.4K
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer01:14

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer

436
Heat transfer between the human body and its environment occurs through four main mechanisms: conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation.
Conduction, accounting for approximately 3% of body heat loss at rest, is the process of exchanging heat between molecules of two materials in direct contact. This can result in both heat loss and gain. For instance, when the body is submerged in water, which conducts heat 20 times more effectively than air, it can either lose or gain significant...
436
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer I01:14

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer I

4.5K
Just as interesting as the effects of heat transfer on a system are the methods by which the heat transfer occur. Whenever there is a temperature difference, heat transfer occurs. It may occur rapidly, such as through a cooking pan, or slowly, such as through the walls of a picnic ice box. So many processes involve heat transfer that it is hard to imagine a situation where no heat transfer occurs. Yet, every heat transfer takes place by only three methods: conduction, convection, and radiation.
4.5K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Ultrasensitive Optical Detection and Elimination of Residual Microtumors with a Postoperative Implantable Hydrogel Sensor for Preventing Cancer Recurrence.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2024
Same author

Calcium signaling mediates proliferation of the precursor cells that give rise to the ciliated left-right organizer in the zebrafish embryo.

Frontiers in molecular biosciences·2023
Same author

An Ultrathin Composite Polymer Electrolyte Dual-Reinforced by a Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM-1) and Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) Porous Membrane.

Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2023
Same author

YDD-SLAM: Indoor Dynamic Visual SLAM Fusing YOLOv5 with Depth Information.

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)·2023
Same author

Association between transcutaneous oxygen saturation within 24 h of admission and mortality in critically ill patients with non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage: a retrospective analysis of the MIMIC-IV database.

Frontiers in neurology·2023
Same author

Small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the ovary with unusual uterine and rectal metastases.

Asian journal of surgery·2023
Same journal

Erratum: Low-dimensional model for adaptive networks of spiking neurons [Phys. Rev. E 111, 014422 (2025)].

Physical review. E·2026
Same journal

Disentangling the effects of many-body forces on depletion interactions.

Physical review. E·2026
Same journal

Charge transport and mode transition in dual-energy electron beam diodes.

Physical review. E·2026
Same journal

Optimization of multisite reactions in complex compartmentalized media.

Physical review. E·2026
Same journal

Origin of geometric cohesion in nonconvex granular materials: Interplay between interdigitation and rotational constraints enhancing frictional stability.

Physical review. E·2026
Same journal

Interaction of walkers with a standing Faraday wave.

Physical review. E·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 28, 2025

Large Scale Energy Efficient Sensor Network Routing Using a Quantum Processor Unit
05:30

Large Scale Energy Efficient Sensor Network Routing Using a Quantum Processor Unit

Published on: September 8, 2023

642

Optimal linear cyclic quantum heat engines cannot benefit from strong coupling.

Junjie Liu1, Kenneth A Jung2

  • 1Department of Physics, International Center of Quantum and Molecular Structures, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.

Physical Review. E
|September 16, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Strong system-bath coupling hinders optimal performance in quantum heat engines (QHEs). This study reveals its detrimental effects on efficiency and power, concluding the debate on QHE operation resources.

More Related Videos

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
05:39

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform

Published on: August 2, 2019

9.7K
Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs
06:42

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Published on: June 8, 2018

9.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 28, 2025

Large Scale Energy Efficient Sensor Network Routing Using a Quantum Processor Unit
05:30

Large Scale Energy Efficient Sensor Network Routing Using a Quantum Processor Unit

Published on: September 8, 2023

642
Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
05:39

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform

Published on: August 2, 2019

9.7K
Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs
06:42

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Published on: June 8, 2018

9.1K

Area of Science:

  • Quantum thermodynamics
  • Quantum heat engines (QHEs)
  • System-bath interactions

Background:

  • Investigating the role of system-bath coupling is crucial for advancing quantum heat engine (QHE) efficiency.
  • A lack of consensus exists regarding whether strong coupling is beneficial for energy conversion in QHEs.
  • Challenges in theoretical treatment of strong couplings have hindered progress.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To resolve the debate on whether strong system-bath coupling is advantageous for optimal linear cyclic quantum heat engines (QHEs) under small temperature differences.
  • To analytically demonstrate the impact of strong coupling on QHE performance metrics.
  • To elucidate the relationship between coupling strength, time-reversal symmetry breaking, and thermodynamic efficiency.

Main Methods:

  • Analytical derivation of performance limits for linear cyclic QHEs.
  • Investigation of strong system-bath coupling regimes.
  • Analysis of efficiency at maximum power and maximum efficiency under varying time-reversal symmetry breaking.
  • Quantification of entropy production rates.

Main Results:

  • Strong system-bath coupling detrimentally affects optimal operation of linear cyclic QHEs.
  • Optimal efficiencies in the strong-coupling regime are bounded by their weak-coupling counterparts.
  • Quadratic suppression of optimal efficiencies relative to the Carnot limit occurs away from the weak-coupling regime under strong time-reversal symmetry breaking.
  • A quadratic enhancement in mean entropy production rate is observed under strong time-reversal symmetry breaking.

Conclusions:

  • Strong system-bath coupling is not an advantageous resource for optimal linear cyclic QHEs operated under small temperature differences.
  • The findings provide a definitive conclusion to the ongoing debate regarding the role of strong coupling in QHEs.
  • Understanding these limitations is essential for designing and optimizing future quantum energy conversion devices.