Jacques Arnaud et al 2002 Eur. J. Phys. 23 489 doi:10.1088/0143-0807/23/5/306
Jacques Arnaud1, Laurent Chusseau2 and Fabrice Philippe3,4
Show affiliationsIn 1824 Carnot established that the efficiency of cyclic engines operating between a hot bath at absolute temperature Thot and a bath at a lower temperature Tcold cannot exceed 1 − Tcold/Thot. We show that linear oscillators alternately in contact with hot and cold baths obey this principle in the quantum as well as classical regime. The expression of the work performed is derived from a simple prescription. Reversible and non-reversible cycles are illustrated. The paper begins with historical considerations and is essentially self-contained.
07.20.Pe Heat engines; heat pumps; heat pipes
Issue 5 (September 2002)
Received 21 May 2001, in final form 15 January 2002
Published 5 August 2002
Jacques Arnaud et al 2002 Eur. J. Phys. 23 489
F Balzer and H-G Rubahn 2001 Nanotechnology 12 105
Jung-Hyung Kim et al 2005 Metrologia 42 110
Neil M Zimmerman et al 2006 Metrologia 43 383
Zhuang Fei et al 2002 Chinese Phys. Lett. 19 73
Namkwon Kim 2006 Nonlinearity 19 721
C M Braams and P E Stott 2002 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 44 1767
M Kimura et al 2009 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 190 012163
Li Xue-Lin et al 2008 Chinese Phys. B 17 1070
Yves Brihaye and Betti Hartmann 2002 Nonlinearity 15 2193