Thermodynamics
Lesson 3 of 3 6 min +40 XP

Heat Engines

Turning heat into work.

What you'll learn

  • Understand heat engines
  • Apply it to real examples
  • Check yourself with a quiz
The steam locomotive

A steam engine takes heat from burning fuel and turns some into motion, dumping the rest out the stack. No engine converts all its heat to work — the second law forbids it.

Efficiency has a ceiling

A heat engine converts heat to work, exhausting waste heat. Carnot efficiency = 1 − T_cold/T_hot sets the maximum possible.

Knowledge Check

+10 XP / correct

1. Can a heat engine be 100% efficient?

2. Carnot efficiency with T_h=400 K, T_c=300 K?