The maximum share of heat any engine can convert into work, set by the temperatures between which it operates, derived by Sadi Carnot in 1824 before the laws of thermodynamics were formalized. It is the reason power stations chase ever hotter steam and why most of the energy in fuel burned for electricity leaves as waste heat: the limit is physics, not engineering shortfall.
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Carnot derived the limit while analyzing the steam engines of his day.
Source Encyclopedia Britannica
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1. Encyclopedia Britannica
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationIntroductionQuote, Introduction
Nicolas Leonard Sadi Carnot in 1824 that specifies limits on the maximum efficiency that any heat engine can obtain.
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