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

Heat Engines01:10

Heat Engines

2.9K
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...
2.9K
The Carnot Cycle01:30

The Carnot Cycle

3.0K
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...
3.0K
Otto and Diesel Cycle01:27

Otto and Diesel Cycle

1.9K
An Otto engine is a four-stroke engine that uses a mixture of gasoline and air as the working fuel. The fuel is injected into the cylinder, and the piston is moved completely down so that the cylinder is at maximum volume. By moving the piston up, adiabatic compression takes place. The spark plug ignites the gasoline-air mixture, and the burning fuel adds heat to the system at a constant volume. The heated mixture expands adiabatically and gets further cooled by exhausting heat, and this cyclic...
1.9K
Thermal Expansion01:22

Thermal Expansion

4.5K
The expansion of alcohol in a thermometer is one of many commonly encountered examples of thermal expansion, which is the change in size or volume of a given system as its temperature changes. The most visible example is the expansion of hot air. When air is heated, it expands and becomes less dense than the surrounding air, which then exerts an upward force on the hot air to, for example, make steam and smoke rise, and hot air balloons float. The same behavior happens in all liquids and gases,...
4.5K
Thermal expansion and Thermal stress: Problem Solving01:27

Thermal expansion and Thermal stress: Problem Solving

1.2K
San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is exposed to temperatures ranging from -15 °C to 40 °C. At its coldest, the main span of the bridge is 1275 m long. Assuming that the bridge is made entirely of steel, what is the change in its length between these temperatures?
To solve the problem, first, identify the known and unknown quantities. The initial length (L) of the bridge is 1275 m, the coefficient of linear expansion (α) for steel is 12 x 10-6/°C, and the change in...
1.2K
Internal Combustion Engine01:20

Internal Combustion Engine

1.5K
The internal combustion engine is a heat engine that uses the byproducts of combustion as the working fluid instead of using a heat transfer medium to transfer heat. The combustion is done in a way that produces high-pressure combustion products that can be expanded through a turbine or piston to create work. Internal combustion engines can again be categorized into three kinds: (1) spark ignition gasoline engines, most commonly used in automobiles, (2) compression ignition diesel engines that...
1.5K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Quantum noise in ranging with optical pulses.

Optics letters·2026
Same author

Real-time monitoring of multimode squeezing.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Experimental memory control in continuous-variable optical quantum reservoir computing.

Nature photonics·2026
Same author

Entanglement routing via passive optics in CV-networks.

EPJ quantum technology·2026
Same author

Optimal Moment-Based Characterization of a Gaussian State.

Physical review letters·2025
Same author

Few-mode squeezing in type-I parametric downconversion by complete group velocity matching.

Optics letters·2024
Same journal

A native sulfur deposit in Gale crater, Mars.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Coordinated demise of harmful algal blooms.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Genetic effects put into context.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Bacteria share proteins to survive antibiotics.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Impacts shaped Earth's first continents.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Erratum for the Report "Covalently bonded single-molecule junctions with stable and reversible photoswitched conductivity" by C. Jia <i>et al</i>.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 7, 2025

Conducting Elevated Temperature Normal and Combined Pressure-Shear Plate Impact Experiments Via a Breech-end Sabot Heater System
10:52

Conducting Elevated Temperature Normal and Combined Pressure-Shear Plate Impact Experiments Via a Breech-end Sabot Heater System

Published on: August 7, 2018

8.6K

Thermal exploration in engine design.

Lincoln D Carr1, Valentina Parigi2

  • 1Quantum Engineering Program, Department of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|March 9, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Scientists achieved a negative-temperature heat engine using photons. This breakthrough could enable new thermodynamic cycles and energy applications by manipulating light at extreme energy states.

More Related Videos

A Rapid Method for Modeling a Variable Cycle Engine
04:58

A Rapid Method for Modeling a Variable Cycle Engine

Published on: August 13, 2019

7.6K
A Modeling and Simulation Method for Preliminary Design of an Electro-Variable Displacement Pump
09:04

A Modeling and Simulation Method for Preliminary Design of an Electro-Variable Displacement Pump

Published on: June 1, 2022

3.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 7, 2025

Conducting Elevated Temperature Normal and Combined Pressure-Shear Plate Impact Experiments Via a Breech-end Sabot Heater System
10:52

Conducting Elevated Temperature Normal and Combined Pressure-Shear Plate Impact Experiments Via a Breech-end Sabot Heater System

Published on: August 7, 2018

8.6K
A Rapid Method for Modeling a Variable Cycle Engine
04:58

A Rapid Method for Modeling a Variable Cycle Engine

Published on: August 13, 2019

7.6K
A Modeling and Simulation Method for Preliminary Design of an Electro-Variable Displacement Pump
09:04

A Modeling and Simulation Method for Preliminary Design of an Electro-Variable Displacement Pump

Published on: June 1, 2022

3.1K

Area of Science:

  • Thermodynamics
  • Quantum Optics
  • Photonics

Background:

  • Negative-temperature systems are rare and typically require specific atomic configurations.
  • Heat engines traditionally operate based on positive temperatures.
  • Photon systems offer unique properties for thermodynamic manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate a functional heat engine operating under negative-temperature conditions.
  • To explore the use of photons as the working medium for such an engine.
  • To investigate the thermodynamic implications of photon-based negative temperatures.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing a Bose-Einstein condensate of photons.
  • Implementing optical pumping techniques to achieve population inversion.
  • Designing a photon-cavity system to extract work.

Main Results:

  • Successfully created a photon system exhibiting negative absolute temperature.
  • Demonstrated the operation of a heat engine powered by these negative-temperature photons.
  • Quantified the efficiency and performance of the photon heat engine.

Conclusions:

  • Photon-based negative-temperature systems are feasible for heat engine applications.
  • This work opens new avenues for exploring exotic thermodynamic regimes.
  • Potential for novel energy conversion and quantum technologies.