An Introduction to Thermal Physics
1st Edition
ISBN: 9780201380279
Author: Daniel V. Schroeder
Publisher: Addison Wesley
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Textbook Question
Chapter 4.1, Problem 2P
At a power plant that produces 1 GW (
(a) What is the maximum possible efficiency of this plant?
(b) Suppose you develop a new material for making pipes and turbines, which allows the maximum steam temperature to be raised to 600°C. Roughly how much money can you make in a year by installing your improved hardware, if you sell the additional electricity for 5 cents per kilowatt-hour? (Assume that the amount of fuel consumed at the plant is unchanged.)
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At a power plant that produces 1 GW (109 watts) of electricity, the steam turbines take in steam at a temperature of 500°C, and the waste heat is expelled into the environment at 20°C.
What is the maximum possible efficiency of this plant?
The surface waters of tropical oceans are at a temperature of 27°C while water at a depth of 1200 m is at 3°C. It has been suggested these warm and cold waters could be the energy reservoirs for a heat engine, allowing us to do work or generate electricity from the thermal energy of the ocean. What is the maximum efficiency possible of such a heat engine?
A heat engine operates between a high temperature of
about 600°C and a low temperature of about 300°C. What
is the maximum theoretical efficiency for this engine?
(a) = 100%.
(e) Cannot be determined from the given information.
(b) - 66%.
(c)~ 50%.
(d) ~ 34%.
Chapter 4 Solutions
An Introduction to Thermal Physics
Ch. 4.1 - Prob. 1PCh. 4.1 - At a power plant that produces 1 GW ( 109 watts)...Ch. 4.1 - A power plant produces 1 GW of electricity, at an...Ch. 4.1 - It has been proposed to use the thermal gradient...Ch. 4.1 - Prove directly (by calculating the heat taken in...Ch. 4.1 - To get more than an infinitesimal amount of work...Ch. 4.2 - Why must you put an air conditioner in the window...Ch. 4.2 - Can you cool off your kitchen by leaving the...Ch. 4.2 - Prob. 9PCh. 4.2 - Suppose that heat leaks into your kitchen...
Ch. 4.2 - What is the maximum possible COP for a cyclic...Ch. 4.2 - Explain why an ideal gas taken around a...Ch. 4.2 - Under many conditions, the rate at which heat...Ch. 4.2 - Prob. 14PCh. 4.2 - In an absorption refrigerator the energy driving...Ch. 4.2 - Prob. 16PCh. 4.2 - Prob. 17PCh. 4.3 - Prob. 18PCh. 4.3 - The amount of work done by each stroke of an...Ch. 4.3 - Derive a formula for the efficiency of the Diesel...Ch. 4.3 - The ingenious Stirling engine is a true heat...Ch. 4.3 - A small-scale steam engine might operate between...Ch. 4.3 - Prob. 23PCh. 4.3 - Calculate the efficiency of a Rankine cycle that...Ch. 4.3 - In a real turbine, the entropy of the steam will...Ch. 4.3 - A coal-fired power plant, with parameters similar...Ch. 4.3 - In Table 4.1, why does the entropy of water...Ch. 4.3 - Imagine that your dog has eaten the portion of...Ch. 4.4 - Liquid HFC-134a at its boiling point at 12 bars...Ch. 4.4 - Consider a household refrigerator that uses...Ch. 4.4 - Suppose that the throttling valve in the...Ch. 4.4 - Suppose you are told to design a household air...Ch. 4.4 - Prob. 33PCh. 4.4 - Consider an ideal Hampson-Linde cycle in which no...Ch. 4.4 - The magnetic field created by a dipole has a...Ch. 4.4 - Prob. 36PCh. 4.4 - A common (but imprecise) way of stating the third...
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