Short Eaturre

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Short Eaturre SHORTHORT FEATUREEATURE DHRUBAJYOTI CHATTOPADHYAY E know Albert Einstein as a The idea that had been Wtheoretical physicist, whose name gathering dust for 70 years is synonymous with the Theory of relativity, E=mc2, Photoelectric emission, was resurrected recently Brownian motion, and so on. There is when Andy Delano started a story about Einstein that once he was research into Albert Einstein’s asked by a reporter why he has not been work and produced some associated with a famous research lab. In reply Einstein pulled out his notebook chilling results. Einstein and Szilard and said, “With this, my pencil and my Szilard was just starting his career temperatures (sink) and for this external brain, I have all the laboratory I need.” at that time. These two great scientific work is required. The reply shows his keen interest minds came together and concluded that On the basis of this external work, in theoretical physics, but how many of the problem with refrigeration was not refrigerator system is of two types – us know that he also worked on many just limited to the poisonous coolant. The Vapor Compression Type and Vapor more everyday tasks, like developing mechanical parts of the refrigerators were Absorption Type. the real culprit. Anyone with even the an energy-efficient refrigerator. Let’s go In compression type the input energy slightest mechanical experience knows down the bylanes of history and take a is electricity and the energy consuming that moving parts cause wear and tear on look at this story. element is the compressor. On the other any system. Eliminate the moving parts hand, in the absorption type refrigerator and the system will probably never leak. History behind Einstein’s the input energy is low-grade energy like Refrigerator As great physicists, these two heat. Here compressor is absent, a pump men realized that they could use their In 1921, Einstein was awarded the Nobel acts as the energy-consuming element. knowledge of thermodynamics to produce Prize in Physics for his explanation of the In both cases two types of working a cooling system that did not involve any photoelectric effect. From 1926 to 1933 pressure are being created. In the type of mechanical motion. And finally, Einstein and Leo Szilard, considered by evaporator the pressure becomes very they came up with a refrigerator without many to be the father of the nuclear age, low, as a result liquid transforms to gas any moving parts, which was a unique dedicated themselves to improving home by absorbing latent heat which creates piece of work. refrigeration technology. So, why did a the refrigeration effect. When it moves man with a Nobel Prize, worldwide fame, Now let’s see how a refrigerator to the compressor the pressure increases and genius intellect waste his valuable works. The main principle behind a and the gas loses heat to its surroundings time working on such a mundane project refrigerator is based on the second law and becomes liquid. This liquid comes like refrigerators. of thermodynamics according to which again to the expansion device through the without any external work heat cannot throttle valve. In this way it works in a For Einstein this was a very flow from a lower temperature to a cyclic order. This is the working principle important project. According to most higher temperature. Here refrigeration of a refrigerator. accounts, while Einstein was in Germany cycle is the reverse one day in the early 1920s he came across of the Carnot cycle. a newspaper article that described the Carnot cycle is the Higher death of an entire family – mother, father, heat engine which Temperature and their children. Apparently, they had takes heat from been killed in their sleep by a poisonous higher temperature coolant that had leaked out of their (source), converts Carnot refrigerator. some portion of this Cycle Work All of the coolants available in those heat to work and days of refrigeration (ammonia, sulfur releases the rest to the Refrigerator Cycle dioxide, and methyl chloride) were very sink. Refrigeration Lower toxic and would kill if they leaked out cycle is also a heat Temperature into the home. People were afraid to use engine which takes a refrigerator. Einstein knew that there the heat from a had to be a better way. So he took that lower temperature challenge. (source) to higher SCIENCE REPORTER, JANUARY 2015 28 SHORT FEATURE ammonia generator chamber and will Diagram of Einstein’s be heated by the external heat (the input of this system). This ammonia will mix Refrigerator again to form a butane ammonia mixture. In this way the cycle will go on. What happened to the Einstein-Szilard Refrigerator? Einstein and Szilard had to overcome many challenges. Some of the designs were too noisy, some not as efficient as they would have liked. Still, they received 45 patents in six countries for refrigeration technology. Yet none of their inventions ever reached the customers. The project was dropped for a number of reasons. The worldwide depression certainly didn’t help things. But the 1930 invention of Freon was the real killer of the Einstein- Szilard refrigerator. Freon was a non- toxic refrigerant, so the danger of leaking was eliminated. There was no longer a need to redesign the refrigerator. Though the commercial production of this refrigerator stopped, the pump was later incorporated into the cooling systems of nuclear breeder reactors. Is the Einstein-Szilard refrigerator relevant today only from the historical point of view? Times have changed. A refrigerator that lasts 100 years and uses Science Behind Einstein’s less energy looks highly attractive today Refrigerator In conventional refrigerators, two as we are trying to discover ways to It is a single pressure absorption type operating pressures work. A refrigerant evaporates at a temperature-dependent live with more efficient, less disposable refrigerator. Here butane is used as things. Besides, the coolant Freon is now refrigerant, ammonia as pressure pressure. Evaporation absorbs heat from whatever is being cooled, and the vapor recognized as a serious environmental controlling agent and water as absorbing hazard. So, are there any chances that fluid. In any absorbing refrigerator, two flows to a compressor. In Einstein’s refrigerator, in the evaporator they used Einstein’s refrigerator may come back in fluids are required, one for refrigerant some modified way? and another as absorbent. For example, in a mixture of ammonia and butane. Let the the ammonia-water cycle, ammonia is the pressure of the system is Ps, and partial It just might be. Actually, The idea refrigerant and water is the absorbent. pressure of ammonia be Pa and butane that had been gathering dust for 70 years In Einstein’s refrigerator, Einstein be Pb. Then P=Pa+Pb. Here butane was resurrected recently when Andy and Leo Szilard used two flow loops changes its phase (from liquid to gas) Delano, a Georgia Tech graduate, started (ammonia flow loop and water flow due to its own partial pressure Pb and research into Albert Einstein’s work and loop) and three fluids (ammonia, water creates the cooling effect and ammonia produced some chilling results. In 2008, and butane) and successfully avoided act ass pressure equalizer. The expansion “Time” honored scientists at Oxford the moving parts by applying their of butane (liquid state to a gaseous state) University – led by engineer Dr. Malcolm knowledge of physics. With the standard acts as a pump and helps to flow the moist McCulloch – with a “best invention” working fluids, a water-flow loop serves ammonia to another loop. award for new research based on the as an ammonia pump, and the ammonia- In the condenser the ammonia gets Einstein-Szilárd designs. flow loop serves as a butane pump. dissolved in water, as a result the partial Although it’s more than 80 years Ammonia and water are suitable choices pressure of butane increases, which helps old, the Einstein refrigerator could be one because ammonia is highly soluble in to change its phase (gaseous to liquid). As example of an idea that is relevant today. water and its solubility declines steeply it is insoluble in water, it floats over it and Mr Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay is Education Offi cer, ammonia will act as a pump to move it to with increasing temperature. Butane is a North Bengal Science Centre (Under National the other loop. suitable choice for the refrigerant because Council of Science Museums), P.O. Matigara, it has a suitably low boiling point and is On the other hand, the mixture Siliguri, Dist. Darjeeling, West Bengal-734010; virtually insoluble in water. of ammonia water will move into the Email: [email protected] 29 SCIENCE REPORTER, JANUARY 2015.
Recommended publications
  • Arxiv:2008.06405V1 [Physics.Ed-Ph] 14 Aug 2020 Fig.1 Shows Four Classical Cycles: (A) Carnot Cycle, (B) Stirling Cycle, (C) Otto Cycle and (D) Diesel Cycle
    Investigating student understanding of heat engine: a case study of Stirling engine Lilin Zhu1 and Gang Xiang1, ∗ 1Department of Physics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China (Dated: August 17, 2020) We report on the study of student difficulties regarding heat engine in the context of Stirling cycle within upper-division undergraduate thermal physics course. An in-class test about a Stirling engine with a regenerator was taken by three classes, and the students were asked to perform one of the most basic activities—calculate the efficiency of the heat engine. Our data suggest that quite a few students have not developed a robust conceptual understanding of basic engineering knowledge of the heat engine, including the function of the regenerator and the influence of piston movements on the heat and work involved in the engine. Most notably, although the science error ratios of the three classes were similar (∼10%), the engineering error ratios of the three classes were high (above 50%), and the class that was given a simple tutorial of engineering knowledge of heat engine exhibited significantly smaller engineering error ratio by about 20% than the other two classes. In addition, both the written answers and post-test interviews show that most of the students can only associate Carnot’s theorem with Carnot cycle, but not with other reversible cycles working between two heat reservoirs, probably because no enough cycles except Carnot cycle were covered in the traditional Thermodynamics textbook. Our results suggest that both scientific and engineering knowledge are important and should be included in instructional approaches, especially in the Thermodynamics course taught in the countries and regions with a tradition of not paying much attention to experimental education or engineering training.
    [Show full text]
  • Thermodynamics of Solar Energy Conversion in to Work
    Sri Lanka Journal of Physics, Vol. 9 (2008) 47-60 Institute of Physics - Sri Lanka Research Article Thermodynamic investigation of solar energy conversion into work W.T.T. Dayanga and K.A.I.L.W. Gamalath Department of Physics, University of Colombo, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka Abstract Using a simple thermodynamic upper bound efficiency model for the conversion of solar energy into work, the best material for a converter was obtained. Modifying the existing detailed terrestrial application model of direct solar radiation to include an atmospheric transmission coefficient with cloud factors and a maximum concentration ratio, the best shape for a solar concentrator was derived. Using a Carnot engine in detailed space application model, the best shape for the mirror of a concentrator was obtained. A new conversion model was introduced for a solar chimney power plant to obtain the efficiency of the power plant and power output. 1. INTRODUCTION A system that collects and converts solar energy in to mechanical or electrical power is important from various aspects. There are two major types of solar power systems at present, one using photovoltaic cells for direct conversion of solar radiation energy in to electrical energy in combination with electrochemical storage and the other based on thermodynamic cycles. The efficiency of a solar thermal power plant is significantly higher [1] compared to the maximum efficiency of twenty percent of a solar cell. Although the initial cost of a solar thermal power plant is very high, the running cost is lower compared to the other power plants. Therefore most countries tend to build solar thermal power plants.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 8 and 9 – Energy Balances
    CBE2124, Levicky Chapter 8 and 9 – Energy Balances Reference States . Recall that enthalpy and internal energy are always defined relative to a reference state (Chapter 7). When solving energy balance problems, it is therefore necessary to define a reference state for each chemical species in the energy balance (the reference state may be predefined if a tabulated set of data is used such as the steam tables). Example . Suppose water vapor at 300 oC and 5 bar is chosen as a reference state at which Hˆ is defined to be zero. Relative to this state, what is the specific enthalpy of liquid water at 75 oC and 1 bar? What is the specific internal energy of liquid water at 75 oC and 1 bar? (Use Table B. 7). Calculating changes in enthalpy and internal energy. Hˆ and Uˆ are state functions , meaning that their values only depend on the state of the system, and not on the path taken to arrive at that state. IMPORTANT : Given a state A (as characterized by a set of variables such as pressure, temperature, composition) and a state B, the change in enthalpy of the system as it passes from A to B can be calculated along any path that leads from A to B, whether or not the path is the one actually followed. Example . 18 g of liquid water freezes to 18 g of ice while the temperature is held constant at 0 oC and the pressure is held constant at 1 atm. The enthalpy change for the process is measured to be ∆ Hˆ = - 6.01 kJ.
    [Show full text]
  • Solar Thermal Energy
    22 Solar Thermal Energy Solar thermal energy is an application of solar energy that is very different from photovol- taics. In contrast to photovoltaics, where we used electrodynamics and solid state physics for explaining the underlying principles, solar thermal energy is mainly based on the laws of thermodynamics. In this chapter we give a brief introduction to that field. After intro- ducing some basics in Section 22.1, we will discuss Solar Thermal Heating in Section 22.2 and Concentrated Solar (electric) Power (CSP) in Section 22.3. 22.1 Solar thermal basics We start this section with the definition of heat, which sometimes also is called thermal energy . The molecules of a body with a temperature different from 0 K exhibit a disordered movement. The kinetic energy of this movement is called heat. The average of this kinetic energy is related linearly to the temperature of the body. 1 Usually, we denote heat with the symbol Q. As it is a form of energy, its unit is Joule (J). If two bodies with different temperatures are brought together, heat will flow from the hotter to the cooler body and as a result the cooler body will be heated. Dependent on its physical properties and temperature, this heat can be absorbed in the cooler body in two forms, sensible heat and latent heat. Sensible heat is that form of heat that results in changes in temperature. It is given as − Q = mC p(T2 T1), (22.1) where Q is the amount of heat that is absorbed by the body, m is its mass, Cp is its heat − capacity and (T2 T1) is the temperature difference.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comprehensive Review of Thermal Energy Storage
    sustainability Review A Comprehensive Review of Thermal Energy Storage Ioan Sarbu * ID and Calin Sebarchievici Department of Building Services Engineering, Polytechnic University of Timisoara, Piata Victoriei, No. 2A, 300006 Timisoara, Romania; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +40-256-403-991; Fax: +40-256-403-987 Received: 7 December 2017; Accepted: 10 January 2018; Published: 14 January 2018 Abstract: Thermal energy storage (TES) is a technology that stocks thermal energy by heating or cooling a storage medium so that the stored energy can be used at a later time for heating and cooling applications and power generation. TES systems are used particularly in buildings and in industrial processes. This paper is focused on TES technologies that provide a way of valorizing solar heat and reducing the energy demand of buildings. The principles of several energy storage methods and calculation of storage capacities are described. Sensible heat storage technologies, including water tank, underground, and packed-bed storage methods, are briefly reviewed. Additionally, latent-heat storage systems associated with phase-change materials for use in solar heating/cooling of buildings, solar water heating, heat-pump systems, and concentrating solar power plants as well as thermo-chemical storage are discussed. Finally, cool thermal energy storage is also briefly reviewed and outstanding information on the performance and costs of TES systems are included. Keywords: storage system; phase-change materials; chemical storage; cold storage; performance 1. Introduction Recent projections predict that the primary energy consumption will rise by 48% in 2040 [1]. On the other hand, the depletion of fossil resources in addition to their negative impact on the environment has accelerated the shift toward sustainable energy sources.
    [Show full text]
  • Empirical Modelling of Einstein Absorption Refrigeration System
    Journal of Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences 75, Issue 3 (2020) 54-62 Journal of Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences Journal homepage: www.akademiabaru.com/arfmts.html ISSN: 2289-7879 Empirical Modelling of Einstein Absorption Refrigeration Open Access System Keng Wai Chan1,*, Yi Leang Lim1 1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: A single pressure absorption refrigeration system was invented by Albert Einstein and Received 4 April 2020 Leo Szilard nearly ninety-year-old. The system is attractive as it has no mechanical Received in revised form 27 July 2020 moving parts and can be driven by heat alone. However, the related literature and Accepted 5 August 2020 work done on this refrigeration system is scarce. Previous researchers analysed the Available online 20 September 2020 refrigeration system theoretically, both the system pressure and component temperatures were fixed merely by assumption of ideal condition. These values somehow have never been verified by experimental result. In this paper, empirical models were proposed and developed to estimate the system pressure, the generator temperature and the partial pressure of butane in the evaporator. These values are important to predict the system operation and the evaporator temperature. The empirical models were verified by experimental results of five experimental settings where the power input to generator and bubble pump were varied. The error for the estimation of the system pressure, generator temperature and partial pressure of butane in evaporator are ranged 0.89-6.76%, 0.23-2.68% and 0.28-2.30%, respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • Cryogenicscryogenics Forfor Particleparticle Acceleratorsaccelerators Ph
    CryogenicsCryogenics forfor particleparticle acceleratorsaccelerators Ph. Lebrun CAS Course in General Accelerator Physics Divonne-les-Bains, 23-27 February 2009 Contents • Low temperatures and liquefied gases • Cryogenics in accelerators • Properties of fluids • Heat transfer & thermal insulation • Cryogenic distribution & cooling schemes • Refrigeration & liquefaction Contents • Low temperatures and liquefied gases ••• CryogenicsCryogenicsCryogenics ininin acceleratorsacceleratorsaccelerators ••• PropertiesPropertiesProperties ofofof fluidsfluidsfluids ••• HeatHeatHeat transfertransfertransfer &&& thermalthermalthermal insulationinsulationinsulation ••• CryogenicCryogenicCryogenic distributiondistributiondistribution &&& coolingcoolingcooling schemesschemesschemes ••• RefrigerationRefrigerationRefrigeration &&& liquefactionliquefactionliquefaction • cryogenics, that branch of physics which deals with the production of very low temperatures and their effects on matter Oxford English Dictionary 2nd edition, Oxford University Press (1989) • cryogenics, the science and technology of temperatures below 120 K New International Dictionary of Refrigeration 3rd edition, IIF-IIR Paris (1975) Characteristic temperatures of cryogens Triple point Normal boiling Critical Cryogen [K] point [K] point [K] Methane 90.7 111.6 190.5 Oxygen 54.4 90.2 154.6 Argon 83.8 87.3 150.9 Nitrogen 63.1 77.3 126.2 Neon 24.6 27.1 44.4 Hydrogen 13.8 20.4 33.2 Helium 2.2 (*) 4.2 5.2 (*): λ Point Densification, liquefaction & separation of gases LNG Rocket fuels LIN & LOX 130 000 m3 LNG carrier with double hull Ariane 5 25 t LHY, 130 t LOX Air separation by cryogenic distillation Up to 4500 t/day LOX What is a low temperature? • The entropy of a thermodynamical system in a macrostate corresponding to a multiplicity W of microstates is S = kB ln W • Adding reversibly heat dQ to the system results in a change of its entropy dS with a proportionality factor T T = dQ/dS ⇒ high temperature: heating produces small entropy change ⇒ low temperature: heating produces large entropy change L.
    [Show full text]
  • Teaching Psychrometry to Undergraduates
    AC 2007-195: TEACHING PSYCHROMETRY TO UNDERGRADUATES Michael Maixner, U.S. Air Force Academy James Baughn, University of California-Davis Michael Rex Maixner graduated with distinction from the U. S. Naval Academy, and served as a commissioned officer in the USN for 25 years; his first 12 years were spent as a shipboard officer, while his remaining service was spent strictly in engineering assignments. He received his Ocean Engineer and SMME degrees from MIT, and his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He served as an Instructor at the Naval Postgraduate School and as a Professor of Engineering at Maine Maritime Academy; he is currently a member of the Department of Engineering Mechanics at the U.S. Air Force Academy. James W. Baughn is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (B.S.) and of Stanford University (M.S. and PhD) in Mechanical Engineering. He spent eight years in the Aerospace Industry and served as a faculty member at the University of California, Davis from 1973 until his retirement in 2006. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering, a recipient of the UCDavis Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award and the author of numerous publications. He recently completed an assignment to the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs as the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Aeronautics for the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 academic years. Page 12.1369.1 Page © American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Teaching Psychrometry to Undergraduates by Michael R. Maixner United States Air Force Academy and James W. Baughn University of California at Davis Abstract A mutli-faceted approach (lecture, spreadsheet and laboratory) used to teach introductory psychrometric concepts and processes is reviewed.
    [Show full text]
  • Thermodynamics of Interacting Magnetic Nanoparticles
    This is a repository copy of Thermodynamics of interacting magnetic nanoparticles. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/168248/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Torche, P., Munoz-Menendez, C., Serantes, D. et al. (6 more authors) (2020) Thermodynamics of interacting magnetic nanoparticles. Physical Review B. 224429. ISSN 2469-9969 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.101.224429 Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Thermodynamics of interacting magnetic nanoparticles P. Torche1, C. Munoz-Menendez2, D. Serantes2, D. Baldomir2, K. L. Livesey3, O. Chubykalo-Fesenko4, S. Ruta5, R. Chantrell5, and O. Hovorka1∗ 1School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 7QF, UK 2Instituto de Investigaci´ons Tecnol´oxicas and Departamento de F´ısica Aplicada, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela,
    [Show full text]
  • A Critical Review on Thermal Energy Storage Materials and Systems for Solar Applications
    AIMS Energy, 7(4): 507–526. DOI: 10.3934/energy.2019.4.507 Received: 05 July 2019 Accepted: 14 August 2019 Published: 23 August 2019 http://www.aimspress.com/journal/energy Review A critical review on thermal energy storage materials and systems for solar applications D.M. Reddy Prasad1,*, R. Senthilkumar2, Govindarajan Lakshmanarao2, Saravanakumar Krishnan2 and B.S. Naveen Prasad3 1 Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Programme area, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam 2 Department of Engineering, College of Applied Sciences, Sohar, Sultanate of Oman 3 Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India * Correspondence: Email: [email protected]; [email protected]. Abstract: Due to advances in its effectiveness and efficiency, solar thermal energy is becoming increasingly attractive as a renewal energy source. Efficient energy storage, however, is a key limiting factor on its further development and adoption. Storage is essential to smooth out energy fluctuations throughout the day and has a major influence on the cost-effectiveness of solar energy systems. This review paper will present the most recent advances in these storage systems. The manuscript aims to review and discuss the various types of storage that have been developed, specifically thermochemical storage (TCS), latent heat storage (LHS), and sensible heat storage (SHS). Among these storage types, SHS is the most developed and commercialized, whereas TCS is still in development stages. The merits and demerits of each storage types are discussed in this review. Some of the important organic and inorganic phase change materials focused in recent years have been summarized. The key contributions of this review article include summarizing the inherent benefits and weaknesses, properties, and design criteria of materials used for storing solar thermal energy, as well as discussion of recent investigations into the dynamic performance of solar energy storage systems.
    [Show full text]
  • Lecture 11. Surface Evaporation and Soil Moisture (Garratt 5.3) in This
    Atm S 547 Boundary Layer Meteorology Bretherton Lecture 11. Surface evaporation and soil moisture (Garratt 5.3) In this lecture… • Partitioning between sensible and latent heat fluxes over moist and vegetated surfaces • Vertical movement of soil moisture • Land surface models Evaporation from moist surfaces The partitioning of the surface turbulent energy flux into sensible vs. latent heat flux is very important to the boundary layer development. Over ocean, SST varies relatively slowly and bulk formulas are useful, but over land, the surface temperature and humidity depend on interactions of the BL and the surface. How, then, can the partitioning be predicted? For saturated ideal surfaces (such as saturated soil or wet vegetation), this is relatively straight- forward. Suppose that the surface temperature is T0. Then the surface mixing ratio is its saturation value q*(T0). Let z1 denote a measurement height within the surface layer (e. g. 2 m or 10 m), at which the temperature and humidity are T1 and q1. The stability is characterized by an Obhukov length L. The roughness length and thermal roughness lengths are z0 and zT. Then Monin-Obuhkov theory implies that the sensible and latent heat fluxes are HS = ρLvCHV1 (T0 - T1), HL = ρLvCHV1 (q0 - q1), where CH = fn(V1, z1, z0, zT, L)" We can eliminate T0 using a linearized version of the Clausius-Clapeyron equations: q0 - q*(T1) = (dq*/dT)R(T0 - T1), (R indicates a reference temp. near (T0 + T1)/2) HL = s*HS +!LCHV1(q*(T1) - q1), (11.1) s* = (L/cp)(dq*/dT)R (= 0.7 at 273 K, 3.3 at 300 K) This equation expresses latent heat flux in terms of sensible heat flux and the saturation deficit at the measurement level.
    [Show full text]
  • The Carnot Cycle, Reversibility and Entropy
    entropy Article The Carnot Cycle, Reversibility and Entropy David Sands Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK; [email protected] Abstract: The Carnot cycle and the attendant notions of reversibility and entropy are examined. It is shown how the modern view of these concepts still corresponds to the ideas Clausius laid down in the nineteenth century. As such, they reflect the outmoded idea, current at the time, that heat is motion. It is shown how this view of heat led Clausius to develop the entropy of a body based on the work that could be performed in a reversible process rather than the work that is actually performed in an irreversible process. In consequence, Clausius built into entropy a conflict with energy conservation, which is concerned with actual changes in energy. In this paper, reversibility and irreversibility are investigated by means of a macroscopic formulation of internal mechanisms of damping based on rate equations for the distribution of energy within a gas. It is shown that work processes involving a step change in external pressure, however small, are intrinsically irreversible. However, under idealised conditions of zero damping the gas inside a piston expands and traces out a trajectory through the space of equilibrium states. Therefore, the entropy change due to heat flow from the reservoir matches the entropy change of the equilibrium states. This trajectory can be traced out in reverse as the piston reverses direction, but if the external conditions are adjusted appropriately, the gas can be made to trace out a Carnot cycle in P-V space.
    [Show full text]