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Why the efficiency of carnot engine is not 100%

User Lgwest
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Well, actually a heat engine using the Carnot cycle whose cold reservoir is maintained at 0 K could in principle be 100% efficient, even if the hot reservoir was merely at the ambient temperature. Since it costs no energy at all to maintain a heat reservoir at the ambient temperature as long as you have a perfect thermal connection to a large thermal capacitor like your swimming pool or a nearby aquifer you’d have built a perpetual motion machine.

User Ali Bdeir
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