1. What is Heat Engine Efficiency?

The heat engine efficiency represents the fraction of heat energy that is converted to work. It is determined by the temperatures of the hot and cold reservoirs according to the Carnot efficiency formula.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the Carnot efficiency equation:

Where:

• \( T_{cold} \) — Temperature of the cold reservoir (K)
• \( T_{hot} \) — Temperature of the hot reservoir (K)

Explanation: This equation gives the maximum possible efficiency for a heat engine operating between two reservoirs at these temperatures.

3. Importance of Efficiency Calculation

Details: Calculating efficiency helps in designing thermal systems, understanding energy conversion limits, and comparing real engines to ideal performance.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both temperatures in Kelvin. The hot reservoir temperature must be greater than the cold reservoir temperature for meaningful results.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Why must temperatures be in Kelvin?
A: The Kelvin scale is an absolute temperature scale required for thermodynamic calculations where zero means absolute zero.

Q2: Can efficiency be greater than 1?
A: No, efficiency is always between 0 and 1 (or 0% to 100%). Values greater than 1 would violate thermodynamic laws.

Q3: What is typical efficiency for real engines?
A: Real engines typically achieve 30-50% of the Carnot efficiency due to various irreversibilities.

Q4: What if T_hot equals T_cold?
A: The efficiency would be zero - no work can be extracted when there's no temperature difference.

Q5: How to improve efficiency?
A: Increase the hot reservoir temperature or decrease the cold reservoir temperature, within material limits.