23. The Second Law of Thermodynamics and Carnot’s Engine

For more information about Professor Shankar’s book based on the lectures from this course, Fundamentals of Physics: Mechanics, Relativity, and Thermodynamics, visit http://bit.ly/1jFIqNu.

Fundamentals of Physics (PHYS 200)

Why does a dropped egg that spatters on the floor not rise back to your hands even though no laws prohibit it? The answer to such irreversibility resides the Second Law of Thermodynamics which explained in this and the next lecture. The Carnot heat engine is discussed in detail to show how there is an upper limit to the efficiency of heat engines and how the concept of entropy arises from macroscopic considerations.

00:00 – Chapter 1. Recap of First Law of Thermodynamics and Macroscopic State Properties
13:22 – Chapter 2. Defining Specific Heats at Constant Pressure and Volume
26:01 – Chapter 3. Adiabatic Processes
43:57 – Chapter 4. The Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Concept of Entropy
59:02 – Chapter 5. The Carnot Engine

This course was recorded in Fall 2006.