A Carnot engine operates between a source at five hundred kelvin and a sink at three hundred kelvin. If the engine absorbs twelve hundred joules of heat from the source in each cycle, what is the work done by the engine per cycle?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The efficiency of a Carnot engine is calculated as one minus the ratio of the sink temperature to the source temperature, which gives forty percent for the given temperatures. The work done per cycle is equal to the product of the thermal efficiency and the heat absorbed from the source, yielding four hundred and eighty joules. The second law of thermodynamics establishes that no heat engine operating between two temperatures can be more efficient than a reversible Carnot engine.