Question

A power plant burns coal to generate electricity. Suppose that 1000 J of heat (Q) from the coal fire enters a boiler, which is kept at a constant temperature of 900 C. That 1000 J is used to boil water in a boiler. The steam from the boiler is used to drive a turbine that creates electricity (work). The excess heat is put into a cooling tower at 5 C.

Carnot efficiency If everything is perfectly efficient,
• What is the maximum efficiency that the plant could operate at?
• How much work could be done starting from that 1000 J?

Answer 1

The work done will be "763 J". A further explanation is given below.

Step-by-step explanation:

The given values are:

Temperature,

i.e,

i.e.,

As we know,

⇒

On substituting the values, we get

⇒

⇒

⇒

⇒

then,

⇒

⇒

⇒