A heat engine absorbs 760 kJ heat from a source at 380 K. It rejects (1)650kJ, (2)560kJ, (3)504kJ of heat to sink at 280K.State which of these represent a reversible,an irreversible and an impossible cycle.?

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Answer

Reversible, Irreversible, and Impossible Heat Engine Cycles

Reversible Cycle:
- In a reversible cycle, the heat engine operates in a way that it can be reversed without any loss of energy or entropy.
- Absorbing 760 kJ of heat from a source at 380 K and rejecting 650 kJ of heat to a sink at 280 K represents a reversible cycle.
- This is because the temperature difference between the source and sink allows for efficient energy transfer without causing any irreversibilities.

Irreversible Cycle:
- In an irreversible cycle, the heat engine operates in a way that it cannot be reversed without some loss of energy or increase in entropy.
- Absorbing 760 kJ of heat from a source at 380 K and rejecting 560 kJ of heat to a sink at 280 K represents an irreversible cycle.
- This is because the heat rejection to the sink is not sufficient to maintain the efficiency of the engine, leading to irreversibilities in the cycle.

Impossible Cycle:
- In an impossible cycle, the heat engine operates in a way that defies the laws of thermodynamics.
- Absorbing 760 kJ of heat from a source at 380 K and rejecting 504 kJ of heat to a sink at 280 K represents an impossible cycle.
- This is because the heat rejection to the sink is higher than the heat absorption from the source, which violates the second law of thermodynamics regarding heat transfer from a colder body to a hotter body without external work input.

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