... there is no thermodynamic limit on the efficiency, heat pumped
over work input, of a heat pump that is pumping heat from a higher
T region to a lower T region ....
I don't understand. I thought that Carnot first discovered that the
limit on thermodynamic efficiency has to do with the ratio of the
input absolute temperature to the output absolute temperature.
Thus, if the input temperature is 600 degrees Kelvin (if I remember
rightly, this is the temperature of the water heated by some kinds of
nuclear reactor) and the output temperature is 300 degrees Kelvin (27
deg C, 80 deg F), the maximum efficiency for converting heat to work
is 50%. Is this right?
Of course, if your output is at 2.7 degrees Kelvin, and your input is
`room' temperature, your efficiency could be pretty high. (But
radiators' radiation drops by the fourth power of the absolute
temperature, is that right? I know that radiators need to be pretty
warm, but I don't know what temperature `warm' is. At what
temperature are the radiators on the International Space Station?)
--
Robert J. Chassell Rattlesnake Enterprises
http://www.rattlesnake.com GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
http://www.teak.cc [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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