Carnoteffekten

Carnoteffekten is a term found in some Swedish-language texts to refer to phenomena associated with the Carnot cycle or Carnot efficiency. It is not part of the formal, widely accepted terminology of thermodynamics, and its precise meaning varies between sources. In many cases, authors use the term to discuss how the theoretical limits of performance for heat engines depend only on the temperatures of the hot and cold reservoirs, a relationship captured by Carnot’s principles.

Because the expression is not standardized, some writers refer to it when describing the influence of temperature gradients on reversible processes, while others use it more narrowly to denote the idealized maximum efficiency of an ideal reversible engine, independent of the working substance. The lack of a single, canonical definition means readers should check the original context to understand what is meant by “Carnoteffekten” in that text.

Historically, the term is named after Sadi Carnot, a foundational figure in thermodynamics, but its usage is primarily found in Swedish-language literature and some introductory sources rather than in formal physics textbooks.

See also: Carnot cycle, Carnot efficiency, thermodynamics, second law of thermodynamics.