The Carnot cycle is a hypothetical, ideal, and reversible cycle process suggested by french

engineer Sadi Carnot in 1824 to show the greatest possible conversion of heat into work. An
ideal machine to demonstrate this cycle is called the Carnot heat engine. Carnot demonstrated
that work done in a carnot cycle is maximum as the various phases involved are reversible
and hence reversible work is maximum.

Carnot Heat engine

The Carnot heat engine is a machine by which a working substance can interchange
mechanical work with its surroundings and can exchange heat with two reservoirs, one at
high temperature (the source), and the other at a lower temperature (the sink). It consists of a
cylinder fitted with an ideal piston and contains a mole of an ideal gas as the working
substance.
In this cycle, the working substance returns back to the initial state after undergoing a certain
operation. Four operations are involved in the cycle, two of which are carried
out isothermally and the other two adiabatically.

Consider 1 mole of gas in a cylinder fitted with a frictionless and weightless piston. The gas
is then subjected to a series of four steps:
Step I: Isothermal reversible expansion at temperature T2
The cylinder is placed on the source and the piston is moved very slowly. The gas is now
allowed to expand reversibly and isothermally at temperature T 2, so that the volume increases
from V1 to V2 (i.e. point A to B as shown in the above figure)
From the first law,
△E = q – W
△E = 0 (for isothermal process)
q=W
i.e. heat absorbed is equal to the work done by the system on the surrounding.
Let q2 be the heat absorbed by the system at temperature T 2 and WAB be the work done by the
system surroundings. Then,

Step II: Adiabatic reversible expansion

The cylinder is now taken out of the source and isolated completely. The gas is then allowed
to expand reversibly and adiabatically from volume V2 to V3 (from point B to C in the above
figure). Since the work has been done by the system adiabatically, no heat is absorbed (q=0)
causing the temperature of the system fall from T2 to T1. Thus, work done on the system by
the surrounding, WBC is given by:
△E = q – W
or, △E = -WBC
or, -WBC = CvdT [ ∴ △E = CvdT = Cv(T1 – T2)]
or, -WBC = Cv(T1 – T2)
or, WBC = Cv(T2 – T1) …………………………………(2)
Step III: Isothermal reversible compression at temperature T1
Now, the cylinder is removed from the insulator and transferred to the heat reservoir (sink) at
low temperatureT1. The gas is then compressed isothermally and reversibly so that the
volume changes from V3 to V4 (point C to D).
For isothermal process,
△E = 0
when q1 amount of heat is given out by the gas to the sink and W CD amount of work is done
on the gas by the piston at constant temperature T1. Then,
Step IV: Adiabatic reversible compression
The cylinder is removed from the heat sink and is insulated. The gas is then compressed
adiabatically and reversibly from volume V4 to V1 (from D to A) and the temperature is
changed from T1 to T2. Since, no heat is evolved or absorbed, q=0 and work done on the gas,
WDA is given by
WDA = △E = Cv(T1 – T2) = -Cv(T2 – T1)
-WDA = -Cv(T2 – T1)………………………………(4)
The net work done in the cyclic process,
W = WAB + WBC -WCD -WDA

Since V3 and V4 are related to V1 and V2 as

Now from equation (5),

The net heat absorbed (Q) in the cyclic process,

From equations (6) and (7) it can be figured that
W=Q
Hence, the heat absorbed by the gas is equal to the work done by it, which is in concurrence
with the first law of thermodynamics.