Abstract
This chapter describes the circumstances under which heat can be converted into work. The reverse—that is, the conversion of work into heat can always be accomplished with 100% efficiency. If the process is carried out isothermally, the system that accomplishes the conversion remains unchanged at the end of the process. The process can therefore be continued indefinitely. The situation is quite different when heat is converted into work. This is another manifestation of the special nature of heat as a form of energy exchange. Although it is possible to convert heat into work completely, at the end of such a process the state of the system is changed. To continue the process of converting heat into work it is necessary to arrange a cyclic process in which the system is restored to its original state at the completion of each cycle. This requires the sacrifice of a portion of the heat. As a result, such a conversion never proceeds with 100% efficiency even if the conversion were carried out reversibly. It thus becomes necessary to establish the conditions under which the maximum amount of work can be extracted from a given process.
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