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The Carnot Cycle and the Second Law of Thermodynamics01:20

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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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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.
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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...
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Updated: Sep 10, 2025

A Rapid Method for Modeling a Variable Cycle Engine
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Gambling Carnot Engine.

Tarek Tohme1,2, Valentina Bedoya1, Costantino di Bello3

  • 1ICTP-The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34151 Trieste, Italy.

Physical Review Letters
|August 27, 2025
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a novel colloidal heat engine with a feedback system that fully converts absorbed heat into work. This innovative design surpasses standard Carnot engine efficiency and power, even at maximum output.

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Area of Science:

  • Thermodynamics
  • Statistical Mechanics
  • Colloidal Physics

Background:

  • Colloidal systems offer a unique platform for studying thermodynamic principles at the microscale.
  • Traditional heat engines face limitations in efficiency and power, particularly beyond the quasistatic limit.
  • Feedback control strategies can potentially enhance the performance of microscopic heat engines.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a theoretical model for a colloidal heat engine driven by a feedback protocol.
  • To demonstrate the engine's ability to achieve full conversion of absorbed heat into work.
  • To analyze the engine's performance in terms of power and efficiency compared to a Carnot cycle.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical modeling based on first-passage and martingale theory.
  • Introduction of a feedback protocol inspired by gambling strategies, involving sudden quenches.
  • Derivation of analytical expressions for power and efficiency.
  • Numerical simulations to validate theoretical findings.

Main Results:

  • The proposed feedback protocol enables full conversion of net heat into extracted work.
  • The engine demonstrates enhanced power and efficiency compared to a standard Carnot cycle.
  • The engine surpasses Carnot's efficiency at maximum power output.
  • Analytical expressions for power and efficiency were derived, valid beyond the quasistatic limit.

Conclusions:

  • The developed feedback-controlled colloidal heat engine offers superior performance over conventional designs.
  • The theoretical model provides a framework for understanding and optimizing microscopic heat engines.
  • The findings highlight the potential of feedback strategies in enhancing thermodynamic efficiency and power in nanoscale systems.