Light bulb in a refrigerator

  • Carnot refridgerator Work Entropy
    • face Work, Heat, and cycles

      face Lecture

      120 min.

      Work, Heat, and cycles
      Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

      work heat engines Carnot thermodynamics entropy

      These lecture notes covering week 8 of Thermal and Statistical Physics include a small group activity in which students derive the Carnot efficiency.
    • assignment Heat pump

      assignment Homework

      Heat pump
      Carnot efficiency Work Entropy Heat pump Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020
      1. Show that for a reversible heat pump the energy required per unit of heat delivered inside the building is given by the Carnot efficiency: \begin{align} \frac{W}{Q_H} &= \eta_C = \frac{T_H-T_C}{T_H} \end{align} What happens if the heat pump is not reversible?

      2. Assume that the electricity consumed by a reversible heat pump must itself be generated by a Carnot engine operating between the even hotter temperature \(T_{HH}\) and the cold (outdoors) temperature \(T_C\). What is the ratio \(\frac{Q_{HH}}{Q_H}\) of the heat consumed at \(T_{HH}\) (i.e. fuel burned) to the heat delivered at \(T_H\) (in the house we want to heat)? Give numerical values for \(T_{HH}=600\text{K}\); \(T_{H}=300\text{K}\); \(T_{C}=270\text{K}\).

      3. Draw an energy-entropy flow diagram for the combination heat engine-heat pump, similar to Figures 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4 in the text (or the equivalent but sloppier) figures in the course notes. However, in this case we will involve no external work at all, only energy and entropy flows at three temperatures, since the work done is all generated from heat.

    • assignment Power Plant on a River

      assignment Homework

      Power Plant on a River
      efficiency heat engine carnot Energy and Entropy 2021 (2 years)

      At a power plant that produces 1 GW (\(10^{9} \text{watts}\)) of electricity, the steam turbines take in steam at a temperature of \(500^{o}C\), and the waste energy is expelled into the environment at \(20^{o}C\).

      1. What is the maximum possible efficiency of this plant?

      2. Suppose you arrange the power plant to expel its waste energy into a chilly mountain river at \(15^oC\). Roughly how much money can you make in a year by installing your improved hardware, if you sell the additional electricity for 10 cents per kilowatt-hour?

      3. At what rate will the plant expel waste energy into this river?

      4. Assume the river's flow rate is 100 m\(^{3}/\)s. By how much will the temperature of the river increase?

      5. To avoid this “thermal pollution” of the river the plant could instead be cooled by evaporation of river water. This is more expensive, but it is environmentally preferable. At what rate must the water evaporate? What fraction of the river must be evaporated?

    • computer Blackbody PhET

      computer Computer Simulation

      30 min.

      Blackbody PhET
      Contemporary Challenges 2021 (4 years)

      blackbody

      Students use a PhET to explore properties of the Planck distribution.
    • face Review of Thermal Physics

      face Lecture

      30 min.

      Review of Thermal Physics
      Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

      thermodynamics statistical mechanics

      These are notes, essentially the equation sheet, from the final review session for Thermal and Statistical Physics.
    • face Thermal radiation and Planck distribution

      face Lecture

      120 min.

      Thermal radiation and Planck distribution
      Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

      Planck distribution blackbody radiation photon statistical mechanics

      These notes from the fourth week of Thermal and Statistical Physics cover blackbody radiation and the Planck distribution. They include a number of small group activities.
  • Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020 A 100W light bulb is left burning inside a Carnot refridgerator that draws 100W. Can the refridgerator cool below room temperature?