OBSERVATION CHAMBER / ACTIVE
Heat Engine Cycle Observatory
Change reservoir temperatures and volume ratio. Follow a reversible Carnot cycle through pressure, entropy, heat, and work.
ROUTE 96 / THERMODYNAMICS
Heat becomes work around a closed cycle
Trace four reversible processes. The P–V loop encloses the net work; the T–S loop shows heat transfer. The white point marks the current state.
All calculations and numerical values below remain available. PNG is disabled.
Focus the diagram: Space or P = play/pause, S = one step, R = reset, L = switch diagram. The density bar shows n/V, not moving molecules.
- CYCLE PHASE φ
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- PROCESS
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- VOLUME
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- PRESSURE
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- TEMPERATURE
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- GAS ΔS
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ENERGY AND ENTROPY
Account from the initial state
- HEAT Q
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- WORK W
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- INTERNAL ENERGY ΔU
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- RESERVOIRS ΔS
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- TOTAL ΔS
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- ΔU − Q + W
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Heat entering the gas is positive Q. Work done by the gas is positive W. The first law is ΔU = Q − W. Gas entropy is relative to the initial state; reservoirs contribute −Qhot/Th − Qcold/Tc. Their total change is zero for this reversible cycle.
Full-cycle totals
- HEAT IN Qin
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- HEAT OUT Qout > 0
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- NET WORK
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- EFFICIENCY η
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η = 1 − Tc/Th is the reversible Carnot efficiency. Changing r changes heat and work per cycle, but not η at fixed reservoir temperatures. No time scale is assigned, so power is not defined.
DETERMINISTIC CHECKS
Check the closed cycle —
| CHECK | ERROR | LIMIT | RESULT |
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Default and boundary fixtures check closure and process continuity ≤ 10⁻¹⁰; normalized ideal-gas, first-law and total-entropy residuals ≤ 10⁻⁹. Independent Simpson integration of P(V), 2048 intervals per process, must agree with analytic net work to relative error ≤ 10⁻⁶.
Current observation report
OBSERVATION GUIDE
Compare the four processes
- Play or step through hot isothermal expansion, adiabatic expansion, cold isothermal compression and adiabatic compression. Watch the sign of Q and W.
- Switch from P–V to T–S. On the adiabatic legs entropy stays constant. On the isothermal legs temperature stays constant.
- Change Tc at fixed Th. Compare the efficiency and net work. Then change r and check what stays constant.
- REPORT and PNG pause playback. Reset, model, phase and diagram changes clear old reports and download links. Hidden tabs stop and do not catch up or restart. Reduced motion disables playback; stepping remains available.
Runs in this browser. No upload or registration.
MODEL AND SCOPE
A reversible Carnot cycle
The gas is always in equilibrium. Each leg is quasistatic and reversible. Reservoir temperatures are fixed. There is no friction, heat leakage, finite-rate transfer, combustion, phase change or molecular dynamics.
n = 1 mol; R = 8.314462618 J/(mol K)
γ = 5/3; Cv = R/(γ−1); V₁ = 0.001 m³
f = (Th/Tc)^(1/(γ−1))
V₂ = rV₁; V₃ = fV₂; V₄ = fV₁
P = nRT/V
ΔS = nCv ln(T/Th) + nR ln(V/V₁)
Qin = nRTh ln r; Qout = nRTc ln r
Wnet = nR(Th−Tc) ln r; η = 1−Tc/Th
This chamber observes heat and work along a thermodynamic path. It does not simulate particle ordering or phase transitions, and it does not derive conservation laws from symmetry.
Schematic observation model only. It is not an engine design, measurement or performance certification.
OBSERVATION POLICY
This reversible ideal monatomic-gas Carnot model runs in your browser. Inputs, calculations, reports, and images stay local. It does not measure a real engine, reservoir, or visitor.
Route
This chamber belongs to Fields in Motion.
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