Heat Engines and Cycles

This day dealt with the introduction of heat engines and cycles as well as the efficiency of them and also the use of PV diagrams and using a table to document the different changes depending on the processes.

The picture above was of an engine that ran on the change in temperature. On one side was cold water and on the other side was hot water. The machine spun clockwise when the compartments were full.

The engine then ran backwards when the hot and cold water were switched and then Professor Mason used the compartment shown above to get a reading on the energy of the cycle.

The main cycle of the day was the Carnot cycle also known as the most efficient one in existence. Using our previous equations we used the different conditions of a Carnot cycle (which involve constant pressure and constant volume) and found relationships.

Using the different conditions of the Carnot Cycle we were able to find out the relationship between the final pressure and volume of the system.

We then used what we learned in order to find the total energy in a system that involved an engine which in this case was a refrigerator. We found the energy usage of it to be 1246 J.

Lastly, we used a PV diagram and found the change in internal Energy, heat and work of the system at each of the specific points.