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Ch 21: Heat Engines and Refrigerators
Chapter 21, Problem 21

The engine that powers a crane burns fuel at a flame temperature of 2000℃. It is cooled by 20℃ air. The crane lifts a 2000 kg steel girder 30 m upward. How much heat energy is transferred to the engine by burning fuel if the engine is 40% as efficient as a Carnot engine?

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Carnot Efficiency

Carnot efficiency is a theoretical maximum efficiency for a heat engine operating between two temperature reservoirs. It is defined by the formula η = 1 - (T_c / T_h), where T_c is the absolute temperature of the cold reservoir and T_h is the absolute temperature of the hot reservoir. This concept is crucial for understanding the efficiency limits of real engines compared to idealized ones.
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The Carnot Cycle and Maximum Theoretical Efficiency

Heat Transfer

Heat transfer refers to the movement of thermal energy from one object or system to another due to a temperature difference. In the context of engines, it involves the energy transferred from the burning fuel to the engine components. Understanding heat transfer is essential for calculating the energy input required for the engine to perform work, such as lifting a load.
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Work Done by the Engine

The work done by the engine is the energy transferred to lift an object against gravity, calculated using the formula W = mgh, where m is the mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is the height lifted. This concept is vital for determining how much energy the engine must produce to accomplish the task, which in turn relates to the heat energy required from the fuel.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question
The heat engine shown in FIGURE P21.62 uses 2.0 mol of a monatomic gas as the working substance. b. Make a table that shows ∆Eₜₕ, Wₛ, and Q for each of the three processes.
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Textbook Question
At what cold-reservoir temperature (in ℃) would a Carnot engine with a hot-reservoir temperature of 427℃ have an efficiency of 60%?
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Textbook Question
A Carnot engine whose hot-reservoir temperature is 400℃ has a thermal efficiency of 40%. By how many degrees should the temperature of the cold reservoir be decreased to raise the engine's efficiency to 60%?
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Textbook Question
A Carnot heat engine operates between reservoirs at 182℃ and 0℃. If the engine extracts 25 J of energy from the hot reservoir per cycle, how many cycles will it take to lift a 10 kg mass a height of 10 m?
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Textbook Question
A typical coal-fired power plant burns 300 metric tons of coal every hour to generate 750 MW of electricity. 1 metric ton = 1000 kg. The density of coal is 1500 kg/m³ and its heat of combustion is 28 MJ/kg. Assume that all heat is transferred from the fuel to the boiler and that all the work done in spinning the turbine is transformed into electric energy. a. Suppose the coal is piled up in a 10 m ✕ 10 m room. How tall must the pile be to operate the plant for one day?
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Textbook Question
An air conditioner removes 5.0 x 10⁵ J/min of heat from a house and exhausts 8.0 x 10⁵ J/min to the hot outdoors. b. What is the air conditioner's coefficient of performance?
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