A Carnot engine operating between hot reservoir at 600 K and cold reservoir at 300 K has maximum efficiency. What is η_C?

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Multiple Choice

A Carnot engine operating between hot reservoir at 600 K and cold reservoir at 300 K has maximum efficiency. What is η_C?

Explanation:
The maximum efficiency of a Carnot engine depends only on the reservoir temperatures and is given by η_max = 1 − Tc/Th. With a hot reservoir of 600 K and a cold reservoir of 300 K, this becomes η_max = 1 − 300/600 = 0.5, i.e., 50%. This is the highest possible efficiency between those two temperatures; any real engine will perform below this due to irreversibilities and non-idealities.

The maximum efficiency of a Carnot engine depends only on the reservoir temperatures and is given by η_max = 1 − Tc/Th. With a hot reservoir of 600 K and a cold reservoir of 300 K, this becomes η_max = 1 − 300/600 = 0.5, i.e., 50%. This is the highest possible efficiency between those two temperatures; any real engine will perform below this due to irreversibilities and non-idealities.

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