Heat engine

A device that operates in a cycle, absorbing heat from a hotter reservoir, converting part of it into work, and rejecting the rest to a cooler reservoir.

Thermodynamic cycle: A sequence of thermodynamic processes that returns a system to its initial state. A heat engine produces net work by repeating a cycle while exchanging heat with its surroundings.
Heat: Energy transferred between systems because of a temperature difference. Heat entering and leaving the working substance defines the engine’s thermal exchanges.
Internal combustion engine: A heat engine that burns fuel inside its working chamber to produce mechanical power. Combustion heats gas directly within the engine’s cylinders or chamber.
Carnot's theorem: The theorem that no engine between two reservoirs exceeds the efficiency of a reversible engine. It states the universal ceiling against which practical heat engines are compared.
Newcomen atmospheric engine: An early steam engine, developed by Thomas Newcomen, used mainly to pump water from mines. Its inefficient but practical operation made steam power an engineering concern.
First law of thermodynamics: The principle that energy is conserved and transferred as heat or work. It accounts for the heat input as work output plus rejected heat over a complete cycle.
Work (thermodynamics): Energy transferred when a force or generalized pressure acts through a displacement. The engine’s useful output is work delivered during each cycle.
Steam engine: A heat engine that uses pressurized steam to produce mechanical motion. Steam engines convert externally supplied heat into piston or turbine work.
Reversible process: An ideal process that can be reversed without leaving net changes in the system and surroundings. Real engine processes generate entropy, unlike the reversible ideal used to set maximum efficiency.
James Watt: A Scottish inventor and engineer whose steam-engine improvements included a separate condenser. Watt’s improvements reduced fuel use and helped make steam power commercially practical.

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