Second Law - Carnot Engines

Flashcards covering the key concepts of the Second Law and Carnot Engines.

Factors that cause processes to be irreversible include __________.

Friction, fast processes, and non-isothermal heat transfer.

In a Carnot cycle, all processes are __________.

Completely reversible.

The maximum performance of real engines can never achieve __________.

100% efficiency.

The four processes of the Carnot cycle include __________, isothermal expansion, adiabatic expansion, isothermal compression, and adiabatic compression.

Reversible isothermal expansion.

The Carnot principles state that the efficiency of an irreversible heat engine is __________ than that of a reversible one operating between the same reservoirs.

Always less.

____________ is a process that can be reversed without leaving any trace on the surroundings.

Reversible process.

In an irreversible process, all processes occurring in nature are __________.

Irreversible.

The Carnot refrigerator's coefficient of performance is the __________ theoretical value for the specified temperature limits.

Maximum.

The three main components involved in the Carnot heat engine are the high temperature reservoir, low temperature reservoir, and __________.

Working fluid.

To achieve maximum efficiency, processes should be __________ and reversible.

Slow.