SADI CARNOT: FOUNDER OF THERMODYNAMICS

Umesh Chandra Sharma1* and Neetu Singh2

1
Department of Chemical Engineering, UIET, CSJM University, Kanpur-208024 (India)
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Thapar University, Patiala-147004 (India)
*
Corresponding author: uc_sharma@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
A heat engine is a device that works in a cycle and converts thermal energy in to some other
form of energy, mechanical, chemical, electrical, etc. Though Sadi Carnot is acknowledged
as the Founder of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, his most profound innovation was the
debunking of the Caloric theory, for which he has not received the proper credit. Moreover,
Carnot missed an opportunity to put forth the concept of First Law of Thermodynamics and
Entropy. These two concepts were within his grasp. He must have sensed them in the back of
his mind. Carnot is the foremost patron of the thermodynamics and his contribution is not less
in significance than that of Einsteins theory of relativity in modern times. An extensive
survey of available literature reveals that Sadi Carnot is still an unsung hero of
thermodynamics, though his original work was a guiding light to numerous researchers who
have contributed successfully to the development of thermodynamics as a modern discipline
of science. This article takes a journey back in time to revisit the works of Sadi Carnot and of
those subsequent researchers who have followed his works after his untimely death in 1832 at
a young age of 36 years. The reason being a pioneer must get his due credit. The author
supports the view of Carnots brother Hippolyte and of other prominent researchers that
Carnot should be considered as the Founder of Thermodynamics.
KEYWORDS: Entropy, Heat engine, First law of thermodynamics, Second law of
thermodynamics, Sadi Carnot, Reversible process, Thermodynamic temperature scale.
INTRODUCTION
French physicist Sadi Carnot (1796-1832) is universally acknowledged as the Founder of the
Second Law of Thermodynamics. Though Carnot did not specifically mention any such law
in his only published work Rflexions Sur La Puissance Motrice Du Feu (Reflections on the
Motive Power of Fire) (1824) nor does any textbook on thermodynamics contains a second
law of thermodynamics as stated by Sadi Carnot. However, a reversible cycle called Carnot
cycle applied to a heat engine definitely bears his name. J. H. Potter honours Sadi Carnot as
the greatest contributor to the science of thermodynamics in introductory remark of his article
A Note on the Carnot Function [1]. Jos Uffink in his famous article Bluff Your Way in the
Second Law of Thermodynamics traces the birth of thermodynamics to the publication of Sadi
Carnots Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire in 1824 [2]. Milivoje M. Kostic wrote rather
recently that Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire may be among the most important
treatises in natural sciences [3]. This may leave a number of questions for any curious student
or researcher interested in the history of thermodynamics: Is it justified to credit Sadi Carnot
as the Founder of the Second Law of Thermodynamics in spite of the fact that he did not
formally advance any statement of the law? Does Carnot cycle really exert such high
influence on the development of subject? Does contribution of Sadi Carnot worth enough to
invite such high praises? Last but not less important, since everyone has not been equally
1

kind in evaluation of Sadi Carnots contribution to the subject of thermodynamics, what

should be his true place in history of thermodynamics an acknowledged pioneer or hero
incognito? The present article makes an effort to find answers to these questions with an
objective that if Sadi Carnot is a pioneer, then he must get his due credit. The composition of
this article is as follows. Section II of the article gives a brief life sketch of Sadi Carnot.
Section III presents a comprehensive account of now obsolete caloric theory for the benefit of
present generation of students and teachers. Thermodynamics as a subject and Second Law in
particular have often been approved by giants of the academic world, but also criticised at the
same time by several other influential researchers. Section IV highlights some of notable
counter views expressed by prominent researchers and scholars on thermodynamics and
second law. Section V looks into the background of Carnots path-breaking work. Section VI
borrows directly passages from the Carnots Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire and
follows the evolution of thermodynamics with a minimum of interpretation from the author
of this article. Section VII focuses on continued efforts by a section of researchers to quest
for a defiance of second law of thermodynamics. Section VIII addresses the issue of greater
honour to Carnot for his contributions to thermodynamics from his own point of view and of
13th century philosopher Thomas Aquinas. The article concludes with a support to Hippolyte
Carnot that Sadi Carnot should be considered as the Founder of Thermodynamics.
A BRIEF LIFE SKETCH OF SADI CARNOT
Nicolas Lonard Sadi Carnot (1 June, 1796 - 24 August, 1832) was the eldest son of
distinguished French mathematician, military engineer and leader of the revolution army,
Lazare Carnot. Sadi Carnot was named after the famous medieval Persian poet and
philosopher Sadi of Shiraz. As a child, Sadi Carnot was conscientiously brought up and
carefully educated at home by his father so that he could later transfer some of his fathers
ideas into his own thoughts on thermal physics [4]. Mendoza rightly attributes Sadis ability to
generalize to his father Lazare Carnot [5]. Sadi Carnot was sent to prestigious cole
Polytechnique in Paris at the age of 16 in 1812 where he studied under eminent faculty such
as Andr-Marie Ampre, Franois Arago, Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, Louis Jacques Thnard
and Simon Denis Poisson. cole Polytechnique was established in 1794 as an army
engineering school and provided a rigorous program of study in physics, chemistry and
mathematics [6]. After graduating from cole Polytechnique in 1814, Sadi Carnot joined
French army's corps of engineers as an officer and studied military engineering for two years
at the cole du Gnie in Metz. In September 1818, he took a six-month leave to prepare for
the entrance examination of Royal Corps of Staff and School of Application for the Service
of the General Staff. In 1819, Sadi was transferred to the newly formed General Staff in
Paris. From this time forward, Carnot became interested in improving the efficiency of steam
engines, which led him to the investigations the results of which were published as a
monograph titled Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire. It was a slim book of mere 118
pages and published in 200 copies only on June 12, 1824 by Bachelier [4]. Reflections on the
Motive Power of Fire received very little attention during the life time of the Carnot. The
book quickly went out of print and for some time was very difficult to obtain. Lord Kelvin
had a difficult time getting a copy of Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire. The
monograph became successful in securing a decent place for Carnot in history and academic
2

world in subsequent years, when it was modernized by mile Clapeyron in 1834 and then
further elaborated upon by Rudolf Clausius and Lord Kelvin. Sadi Carnot retired from the
army in 1828 without a pension. Carnot was restrained in a private asylum in 1832 as
suffering from "mania" and "general delirum". Shortly thereafter, he died during a cholera
epidemic at a young age of 36 at the hospital in Ivry-sur-Seine. Because of the contagious
nature of cholera and custom of that time, most of his belongings and writings were burned
after his death. Only a handful of his manuscripts survived, which were posthumously
published by his brother Hippolyte Carnot in 1878.
CALORIC THEORY
According to estk et al. [4], the term caloric was first envisioned by Czech philosopher and
educator Comenius in his book Physicae Synopsis in 1633 while discussing the hotness and
coldness in natural processes. Comenius published another book Disquisitiones de Caloris et
Frigoris Natura in 1659 on the principles of heat and cold. Joseph Black (1760) appears to be
the next person to use the term caloric a century later in Scotland [7]. Comenius mostly lived
and also died in Amsterdam. It cannot be said with certainty whether Joseph Black had gone
through the works of Comenius or not. The practically same term was used by famous French
chemist Antoine Lavoisier in his paper Rflexions sur le phlogistique in 1783 [8].
The caloric theory stated that caloric is an invisible, indestructible and elastic fluid of fine
particles without mass that flows from one object to another when heat is transferred. This
flow of caloric causes objects to warm or cool. Caloric flows into objects when they are
heated and out again when they are cooled. The theory assumes that caloric can neither be
created nor destroyed. Hence the quantity of caloric in the universe is constant [9-12]. Some
key features of caloric theory are as follows: The particles of free caloric strongly repel one
another. Caloric, when chemically combined with the molecules of a substance, becomes
latent and occupies only volume while temperature remains unaffected. The amount of free
and latent caloric in a closed system is constant. Particles of free caloric (in addition to
particles of latent caloric) exist inside the molecules of a substance, although they may be
transferred across space when that substance is heated or cooled [12]. The caloric can be
squeezed out by friction or flows out of a body when fire is applied [11].
Caloric theory was successful in explaining several of heat phenomena such as the cooling of
a glass of hot water at room temperature. Since the caloric particles are self-repelling and thus
flow slowly from regions of high caloric hot water to regions of low caloric cooler air of the
room. Similarly, the expansion of air under heat can be explained by absorption of caloric
into the air and thus an increase in its volume [8]. The caloric theory offered a reasonable
explanation for rise and fall of mercury column in a thermometer. A rise in mercury column
indicated an increase in the density of free caloric, while a fall in mercury column indicated a
decrease in density of free caloric. Thus, the temperature was a measure of the density of free
caloric [12]. Sadi Carnot developed the Carnot cycle exclusively from the perspective of
caloric theory [8].
The caloric theory of heat is now viewed as false, totally misguided and mistaken attempt to
identify the cause and nature of heat and heat phenomena [13]. The biggest flaw of the theory
was its central assumption that mechanical energy cannot be converted into thermal energy
[10]
. The caloric theory, however, remained incontestable for almost two centuries [4]. British
3

physicist Count Rumford was among the first to show in 1798 that mechanical energy could
be converted to thermal energy during the process of boring cannons but his results were
generally ignored by the then scientific community [14]. German physician and physicist
Julius Robert von Mayer in 1842 proposed that mechanical and thermal energy are different
forms of energy and can be transformed into one another but his ideas were also rejected [8].
British physicists James Prescott Joule and Lord Kelvin were able to obtain a quantitative
relationship between mechanical and thermal energy through a series of excellent
experiments between 1850 and 1860 [10]. As a result of these and several other experimental
findings, the caloric theory was invalidated by the end of the 19 th century in favour of the
current mechanical theory of heat [8].
REFLECTIONS ON THERMODYNAMICS AND SECOND LAW
The subject of thermodynamics, in general, and the second law, in particular, has garnered
appreciation from several prominent academicians and researchers over the period of last one
and a half century. For instance, Einstein acknowledged the importance of classical
thermodynamics and even his initial papers were also related to the second law [3,15]. Adrian
Bejan states that the theory of engineering thermodynamics is a precious and colourful one
[16]
. Contrary to these appreciations, serious objections have often been raised by critics over
methods and approaches followed by thermodynamicists. Classical thermodynamics is often
called by its critics as an old school subject from a bygone era that can fit only in engineering
curriculums at preliminary levels. This illusion has developed principally due to preference
given to phenomenological approach over molecular hypothesis. The former suffers with lack
of clarity and accuracy in its formulation from mathematical perspective. The denial to later
approach is considered as a typical 19th century apprehension. The inherent negative
character of thermodynamic principles is next major weakness highlighted by scholars. The
negative character means the thermodynamic principles state what is impossible rather than
what is possible [2]. Now we talk about the second law, which is one of the most widely
debated and interpreted concepts in science. In the words of Bridgman - There have been
nearly as many formulations of the second law as there have been discussions of it (p. 116)
[17]
. Kostic makes the same observation in a recent paper written after seven decades to
Bridgman remark. Even today, The Second Law remains so obscure, due to the lack of its
comprehension that it continues to attract new efforts at clarification [15]. From a critical
perspective, Uffink comments that the problem of reproducing the second law remains one of
the toughest and controversial problems in statistical physics. It is hard to make progress on
this issue as long as it remains unclear what the second law says [2]. In the following
paragraphs, we present the counter views of prominent researchers and scholars on
thermodynamics and second law.
James Clerk Maxwell*: Thermodynamics is a science with secure foundations, clear
definitions and distinct boundaries [18].
Albert Einstein*: A theory is the more impressive the greater the simplicity of its premises
is, the more different kinds of things it relates and the more extended is its area of
applicability. Therefore, the deep impression which classical thermodynamics made upon me.
It is the only physical theory of universal content concerning which I am convinced that,
4

within the framework of the applicability of its basic concepts, it will never be overthrown
[19]
.
Donald Stephen Lowell Cardwell*: One of the most significant developments in the
emergence of the engineering sciences was the establishment of thermodynamics [20].
Timothy G. Gutowski et al.*: Thermodynamics can play an essential role in understanding
the function of ecosystems in the life cycle of economic products. It can also assist in the
development of technological-ecological networks by identifying processes with highest
exergy losses and guiding the design of efficient and self-sustaining technological-ecological
networks that operate within ecological constraints [21].
Vladimir Igorevich Arnold: Every mathematician knows it is impossible to understand an
elementary course in thermodynamics [22].
Ulrich Grigull: Our students often say: Thermodynamics cant be learned in one go! Our
students often also say: One cant understand Thermodynamics, only get accustomed to it.
This remark reflects the desire for proofs of the axioms of Thermodynamics, i.e., the
principles. To this we can only answer, that such proofs do not exist (p. 2) [23].
Arthur Eddington**: The law that entropy always increases, - the second law of
thermodynamics - holds, I think, the supreme position among the laws of Nature. If someone
points out to you that your pet theory of the universe is in disagreement with Maxwells
equations - then so much the worse for Maxwells equations. If it is found to be contradicted
by observation - well, these experimentalists bungle things sometimes. But if your theory is
found to be against the second law of thermodynamics I can give you no hope; there is
nothing for it but to collapse in deepest humiliation (p. 74) [24].
Bertrand Russell**: There is one supremely important law which is only statistical; this is
the second law of thermodynamics. It states, roughly speaking, that the world is growing
continuously more disorderly [25].
Robert Fox**: The publication of the Reflexions marked the beginning of classical
thermodynamics [26].
Milivoje M. Kostic**: Carnots reasoning of reversible cycles is in many ways equal if not
more significant than the Einsteins relativity theory in modern times. It led to discovery of
Thermodynamic absolute temperature and entropy, and the far-reaching Second Law of
Thermodynamics (p. 159). .......... It is crystal-clear (to me) that all confusions related to the
far reaching fundamental Laws of Thermodynamics, and especially the Second Law, are due
to the lack of their genuine and subtle comprehension (p. 160) [3].
Hugh Longbourne Callendar: Clausius definition of entropy appeals to the mathematician
only [27].
Charles Percy Snow: A good many times I have been present at gatherings of people who,
by the standards of the traditional culture, are thought highly educated and who have with
considerable gusto been expressing their incredulity at the illiteracy of scientists. Once or
twice I have been provoked and have asked the company how many of them could describe
the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The response was cold: it was also negative. Yet I was
5

asking something which is about the equivalent of: have you read a work of Shakespeare?
[28]
.
Clifford Truesdell: Heads have split for a century trying to define entropy in terms of other
things. Entropy, like force, is an undefined object, and if you try to define it, you will suffer
the same fate as the force-definers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: Either you
will get something too special or you will run around in a circle [29].
John von Neumann: Whoever uses the term entropy in a discussion always wins: . . . no
one knows what entropy really is, so in a debate you will always have the advantage [30].
Stephen G. Brush: As anyone who has taken a course in thermodynamics is well aware, the
mathematics used in proving Clausius theorem (i.e. the Second Law) is of a very special
kind, having only the most tenuous relation to that known to mathematicians [31].
Clifford Truesdell: Clausius verbal statement of the second law makes no sense. All that
remains is a Mosaic prohibition; a century of philosophers and journalists have acclaimed this
commandment; a century of mathematicians have shuddered and averted their eyes from the
unclean (p. 333). .......... Seven times in the past thirty years have I tried to follow the
argument Clausius offers and seven times has it blanked and gravelled me. I cannot explain
what I cannot understand (p. 335) [32].
Quotes marked with single asterisk (*) present statement in favour of thermodynamics immediately followed by criticisms of
thermodynamics, while quotes marked with double asterisk (**) present statement in favour of second law of thermodynamics followed by
criticisms of second law.

LOW EFFICIENCY OF STEAM ENGINES AND LINK WITH CARNOT

The first piston-operated steam engine was invented by English ironmonger and preacher
Thomas Newcomen in 1712. Newcomen engine was highly successful and reigned
supremacy for little over half a century. However, this engine was gravely inefficient because
three quarter of the energy was lost as the design necessitated the cooling of the cylinder in
each cycle in order to condense the steam [33]. Newcomen engine was called atmospheric
engine because the greatest steam pressure used was near atmospheric pressure. James Watt
solved this problem in 1765 by adding a separate condenser so that the steam was condensed
outside of the cylinder. The other significant improvements in design included putting a
steam jacket around the cylinder to maintain its temperature the same as the steam entering
into it. The steam supply was cut away prior to completion of the stroke and the steam
already introduced into the cylinder was allowed to expand. The steam was admitted on both
sides of the piston in an alternate manner at a pressure exceeding atmospheric pressure [34].
These modifications in design greatly increased the efficiency of the steam engine and the
operating cost was also considerably reduced. James Watts steam engine was able to
supersede the waterwheel and the horse as the main source of power for machinery [33]. It also
marked the beginning of industrial revolution in Great Britain and its emergence as the major
industrial power in the world. Sadi Carnot accredited the industrial and military superiority of
Britain over its arch-rival France to the invention of efficient steam engine [35].
The efficiency of steam engines in early stages of development was below 5% [3]. Watt and
other engineers continued to improve their design to increase the efficiency. Their objective
was to get more work done for the amount of coal burned as this would decrease the cost
incurred for coal and increase the work done [36]. The improvement of engines efficiency
was a discouraging trial-and-error exercise [37]. Improvements such as better insulation on the
6

boiler and steam lines, better bearings and better lubrication could reduce heat losses and
friction without any significant improvement in engine efficiency. No scientific theory
existed at the time to backup efforts to improve the engine efficiency. The engineers then
began to speculate that there appeared to be a theoretical limit to the efficiency of steam
engines that could not be surpassed. Here Sadi Carnot appears on the centre stage with a
solution to this problem through his slim book Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire
published in 1824 and secures himself a place in history forever. Carnot showed that there is
a limit to the efficiency of any heat engine, which depends only on the difference in
temperature between its hot and cold reservoirs, not on the size of the engine, friction, or any
other mechanical aspect [36]. Several prominent researchers, scholars and science historians
attribute the development of first and second laws of thermodynamics, the entropy principle
and of classical thermodynamics to Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire, which
originated to sort out the issue of low efficiency in steam engines. United States
physiologist, chemist, biologist, philosopher and sociologist Lawrence J. Henderson
summarized this situation in 1917 with his famous statement that Science owes more to the
steam engine than the steam engine owes to science [38].
REFLECTIONS ON THE MOTIVE POWER OF FIRE AND ON MACHINES
FITTED TO DEVELOP THAT POWER
Sadi Carnot reviewed the industrial, political and economic impact as well as significance of
James Watts steam engine in his magnum opus Rflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu et
sur les machines propres dvelopper cette puissance (Reflections on the Motive Power of
Fire and on Machines Fitted to Develop that Power). In this work of timeless appeal, Carnot
mooted the idea of an ideal reversible cycle heat engine that could run on any working fluid
and aspired to develop a theory to evaluate the efficiency of this engine. Carnot concluded
that "no engine operating between two given reservoirs can be more efficient than a
reversible engine operating between the same two reservoirs", a statement now known as
Carnot's theorem. Carnots book Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat edited by
R.H.Thurston, Second Revised Edition and published simultaneously by John Wiley and
Sons, New York and Chapman and Hall, London in 1897 is readily available on the internet
at http://www3.nd.edu/~powers/ame.20231/carnot1897.pdf [35]. In this section, I quote directly
from this edition and try to follow the evolution of second law of thermodynamics and of
classical thermodynamics in Carnots writings.
1.
When a hypothesis no longer suffices to explain phenomena, it should be abandoned.
This is the case with the hypothesis which regards caloric as matter, as a subtle fluid (p.
219).
Remark: Abundance of Caloric Theory
2.
Heat is simply motive power, or rather motion which has changed form. It is a
movement among the particles of bodies. Wherever there is destruction of motive power there
is, at the same time, production of heat in quantity exactly proportional to the quantity of
motive power destroyed. Reciprocally, wherever there is destruction of heat, there is
production of motive power (p. 225). ..... We can then establish the general proposition that
7

motive power is, in quantity, invariable in nature; that it is, correctly speaking, never either
produced or destroyed. It is true that it changes form, that is, it produces sometimes one sort
of motion, sometimes another, but it is never annihilated (p. 226).
Remark: First Law of Thermodynamics
First Law of Thermodynamics: Although energy assumes many forms, the total quantity of
energy is constant, and when energy disappears in one form it appears simultaneously in
other forms (p. 19) [39].
3.
If it were possible by any method whatever to make the caloric produce a quantity of
motive power greater than we have made it produce by our first series of operations, it would
suffice to divert a portion of this power in order by the method just indicated to make the
caloric of the body B return to the body A from the refrigerator to the furnace, to restore the
initial conditions, and thus to be ready to commence again an operation precisely similar to
the former, and so on: this would be not only perpetual motion, but an unlimited creation of
motive power without consumption either of caloric or of any other agent whatever. Such a
creation is entirely contrary to ideas now accepted, to the laws of mechanics and of sound
physics. It is inadmissible. (p. 55).
Remark: Perpetual Motion Machine of First Kind
Perpetual Motion Machine of First Kind: There can be no machine which would
continuously supply mechanical work without some other form of energy disappearing
simultaneously.
4.
The production of motive power is then due in steam-engines not to an actual
consumption of caloric, but to its transportation from a warm body to a cold body, that is, to
its re-establishment of equilibrium-an equilibrium considered as destroyed by any cause
whatever, by chemical action such as combustion, or by any other. We shall see shortly that
this principle is applicable to any machine set in motion by heat. According to this principle,
the production of heat alone is not sufficient to give birth to the impelling power: it is
necessary that there should also be cold; without it, the heat would be useless. (p. 46). .....
Wherever there exists a difference of temperature, wherever it has been possible for the
equilibrium of the caloric to be re-established, it is possible to have also the production of
impelling power (p. 48).
Remark: Second Law of Thermodynamics
Kelvins Principle: It is impossible to perform a cyclic process with no other result than that
heat is absorbed from a reservoir, and work is performed [2].
5.
Is there any way of using more heat in the production of motive power, and of causing
less to reach the body B? Could we even utilize it entirely, allowing none to go to the body B?
If this were possible, motive power could be created without consumption of combustible, and
by mere destruction of the heat of bodies (p. 224).
Remark: Perpetual Motion Machine of Second Kind
Perpetual Motion Machine of Second Kind: An imaginary machine which would
continuously absorb heat from a single hot reservoir and convert all its heat completely into
work with 100% efficiency is called PMM2.
8

6.
Imagine two bodies A and B, kept each at a constant temperature, that of A being
higher than that of B. These two bodies, to which we can give or from which we can remove
the heat without causing their temperatures to vary, exercise the functions of two unlimited
reservoirs of caloric. We will call the first the furnace and the second the refrigerator.
If we wish to produce motive power by carrying a certain quantity of heat from the body A to
the body B we shall proceed as follows*:
(i) To borrow caloric from the body A to make steam with it, that is, to make this body fulfil
the function of a furnace, or rather of the metal composing the boiler in ordinary engines-we
here assume that the steam is produced at the same temperature as the body A.
(ii) The steam having been received in a space capable of expansion, such as a cylinder
furnished with a piston, to increase the volume of this space, and consequently also that of
the steam. Thus rarefied, the temperature will fall spontaneously, as occurs with all elastic
fluids; admit that the rarefaction may be continued to the point where the temperature
becomes precisely that of the body B.
(iii) To condense the steam by putting it in contact with the body B, and at the same time
exerting on it a constant pressure until it is entirely liquefied. The body B fills here the place
of the injection-water in ordinary engines, with this difference, that it condenses the vapour
without mingling with it, and without changing its own temperature. (p. 51-53).
Remark: Analyzing a heat engine as a cyclic process instead of an open system
* Sadi Carnot left the cycle incomplete, in most probability mistakenly, which was transformed later by mile Clapeyron in a mathematical
language illustrating the complete cycle in a diagram well-known until today [40].

7.
The operations which we have just described might have been performed in an inverse
direction and order. There is nothing to prevent forming vapour with the caloric of the body
B, and at the temperature of that body, compressing it in such a way as to make it acquire the
temperature of the body A, finally condensing it by contact with this latter body, and
continuing the compression to complete liquefaction. (p. 54). ..... By our first operations there
would have been at the same time production of motive power and transfer of caloric from
the body A to the body B. By the inverse operations there is at the same time expenditure of
motive power and return of caloric from the body B to the body A. But if we have acted in
each case on the same quantity of vapour, if there is produced no loss either of motive power
or caloric, the quantity of motive power produced in the first place will be equal to that which
would have been expended in the second, and the quantity of caloric passed in the first case
from the body A to the body B would be equal to the quantity which passes back again in the
second from the body B to the body A; so that an indefinite number of alternative operations
of this sort could be carried on without in the end having either produced motive power or
transferred caloric from one body to the other. (p. 54-55).
Remark: Introduction of Carnot reversible heat engine
8.
The maximum of motive power resulting from the employment of steam is also the
maximum of motive power realizable by any means whatever (p. 55).
Remark: Carnots Theorem

Carnots Theorem: A heat engine more efficient than the reversible engine does not exist
[41]
.
9.
Heat can evidently be a cause of motion only by virtue of the changes of volume or of
form which it produces in bodies (p. 49). ...... all change of temperature which is not due to a
change of volume of the bodies can be only a useless reestablishment of equilibrium in the
caloric. The necessary condition of the maximum is, then, that in the bodies employed to
realize the motive power of heat there should not occur any change of temperature which
may not be due to a change of volume. Reciprocally, every time that this condition is fulfilled
the maximum will be attained. This principle should never be lost sight of in the construction
of heat engines; it is its fundamental basis. If it cannot be strictly observed, it should at least
be departed from as little as possible. (p. 56-57).
Remarks: Two bodies having different temperatures should never be in direct contact with
each other as the heat exchanged during this contact would mean a loss of motive power. It is
therefore necessary to make changes to temperature purely by compression and expansion
involving volume changes.
10. The motive power of heat is independent of the agents employed to realize it; its
quantity is fixed solely by the temperatures of the bodies between which is effected, finally,
the transfer of the caloric (p. 68).
Remark: Thermodynamic Temperature Scale
Thermodynamic Temperature Scale: The thermodynamic temperature scale does not
depend on the thermometric property of a substance. Similar to Carnot engine, it depends on
the temperatures of the reservoirs between which it operates.
11. The motive power of a waterfall depends on its height and on the quantity of the liquid;
the motive power of heat depends also on the quantity of caloric used, and on what may be
termed, on what in fact we will call, the height of its fall, that is to say, the difference of
temperature of the bodies between which the exchange of caloric is made. In the waterfall the
motive power is exactly proportional to the difference of level between the higher and lower
reservoirs. In the fall of caloric the motive power undoubtedly increases with the difference
of temperature between the warm and the cold bodies; but we do not know whether it is
proportional to this difference (p. 60-61).
Remark: Efficiency of the reversible heat engine
Efficiency of the reversible heat engine:
As T2 decreases and T1 increases, the efficiency of the reversible cycle increases.
12. The production of motion in steam engines is always accompanied by a circumstance
on which we should fix our attention. This circumstance is the re-establishing of equilibrium
in the caloric; that is, its passage from a body in which the temperature is more or less
elevated, to another in which it is lower (p. 44-45).
Remark: Concept of directional law (or times arrow)

10

The second law of thermodynamics owes two unique characteristics. First is the
generalisation of the empirical observation that any spontaneous process occurs in the
direction of high potential to low potential. Newtons law of viscosity, Fouriers law of
conduction, Ficks law of diffusion, Ohms law of electrical flow, etc. are classic examples of
this generalisation [42]. Second, it is the only law of nature that restricts a journey back in
time. All the other laws of mechanics and thermodynamics are valid regardless of movement
with or against the time. Only the second law of thermodynamics is violated when time is
reversed [6]. Times arrow is a catch phrase introduced by Arthur Eddington in his The Nature
of the Physical World* (p. 68-69) [24].
* Eddington made an interesting analogy between the second law of thermodynamics and fall of Humpty Dumpty in classic nursery rhyme
in the same book to demonstrate the irrevocable nature of second law of thermodynamics (p. 64).
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Could not put Humpty Dumpty together again.

13. .. the maximum of motive power resulting from the employment of steam is also the
maximum of motive power realizable by any means whatever (p. 55). .. all change of
temperature which is not due to a change of volume of the bodies can be only a useless reestablishment of equilibrium in the caloric. The necessary condition of the maximum is, then,
that in the bodies employed to realize the motive power of heat there should not occur any
change of temperature which may not be due to a change of volume. Reciprocally, every time
that this condition is fulfilled the maximum will be attained. This principle should never be
lost sight of in the construction of heat engines; it is its fundamental basis. If it cannot be
strictly observed, it should at least be departed from as little as possible (p. 56-57). .. In
reality the operation cannot proceed exactly as we have assumed (p. 58).
Remark: Evolution of entropy principle*
Entropy Principle: Every process proceeds in such a direction that the total entropy change
associated with it is positive, the limiting value of zero being attained only by a reversible
process. No process is possible for which the total entropy decreases (p. 163) [39].
*Carnot never used the term entropy himself and credit goes to Clausius as originator of the entropy principle; still entropy is regarded as a
vision of Carnot appearing in his book. The entropy principle can be figured out in Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire in a progressive
manner by following Carnots line of reasoning. Carnot first introduces the concept of a cyclic heat engine; then adds inverse direction and
order to this cycle; then proposes maximum efficiency for this reversible cycle heat engine. Carnot further stresses that not every reversible
engine, but only a reversible Carnot engine would achieve maximum efficiency, that is, an engine in which all change of tempe rature is due
to a change of volume of the bodies by virtue of compression and expansion. Carnot concludes that the proposed engine cannot proceed
precisely in the same manner in reality.

Reversibility is an ideal consideration that is used to study basic postulates of science. All
real processes in nature are irreversible, though some of them approach reversibility to some
extent. A reversible process is thus the ideal limit of a real process. Since no real process is
more efficient than a reversible process, there exists a fundamental irreversibility in nature
[43]
. Thus, it can be said that the common denominator for all irreversible processes is an
entropy increase [36] and a reversible process is synonymous with a zero entropy production
process [6].
DEFIANCE OF SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
Maxwells Demon has now acquired a status of first serious challenge to second law of
thermodynamics. This thought experiment gave rise to an incredibly rich literature in the
11

subsequent decades, but second law of thermodynamics was found firm in its foundation. A
thorough description of Maxwells Demon and other challenges is beyond the scope of
present article. The interested reader may find a good discussion in The peculiar status of the
second law of thermodynamics and the quest for its violation [44] with numerous references
for further reading. More than fifty papers have appeared in refereed scientific journals since
1981 and three international conferences have been held since 2002 on the limits of the
second law of thermodynamics.
Gyftopoulos and Beretta rightly put a question mark on need of such efforts to find a
violation of second law of thermodynamics [45]:
If no challenges have been proven valid, what is the motivation for pursuing exploratory
research to prove that the second law is invalid? To put our question differently, why people
interested in exploratory research do not try to prove that the solar system is neither
geocentric nor heliocentric? Similarly why researchers do not try to prove that, in the realm
of its validity, Newtons equation of motion is not correct? (p. 38)
IN PURSUIT OF A RIGHTFUL PLACE FOR CARNOT IN HISTORY OF
THERMODYNAMICS
In the light of discussion held in preceding sections, one might think: What else lies in
classical thermodynamics beyond the scope of Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire? The
brilliance of Carnot remains in his analysis of heat engine that was much ahead of his time
and led to the development of classical thermodynamics. Truly, several of classical
thermodynamics ruling principles have been developed by other great scientific geniuses
like Rumford, Joule, Mayer, Clausius, Kelvin, Plank, Regnault, Helmholtz and many others
and their contribution goes beyond question. The final acclamation for development of these
principles might go to them, but a clear impression of these principles can be found in
Carnots writings. The pages of Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire are open to everyone
for examination. Now the point is What should be a rightful place for Carnot in history of
thermodynamics?
13th century philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas established the superiority of cause
over effect in his philosophical considerations on cause and effect [46]:
1. There is an efficient cause for everything; nothing can be the efficient cause of itself.
2. It is not possible to regress to infinity in efficient causes.
3. To take away the cause is to take away the effect.
4. If there be no first cause then there will be no others.
If we follow the above wisecracks of one of our greatest philosophers, Sadi Carnot as creator
of Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire emerges as the cause and all principles derived
thereafter by researchers following his work appear as effects.
Carnots own view of the subject is contrary to ideas of Thomas Aquinas. Carnot makes an
observation that there is always a great difference between an invention first developed by
someone, most likely some unknown person, and the final design reached through several
improvements by different persons. Carnot gives less credit to original creator and more to
subsequent researchers for developing improved and fuel efficient design.
The discovery of the steam-engine owed its birth, like most human inventions, to rude
attempts which have been attributed to different persons, while the real author is not
12

certainly known. It is, however, less in the first attempts that the principal discovery consists,
than in the successive improvements which have brought steam-engines to the condition in
which we find them today. There is almost as great a distance between the first apparatus in
which the expansive force of steam was displayed and the existing machine, as between the
first raft that man ever made and the modern vessel (p. 41).
Though France and England share a long history of military and industrial rivalry, but we
find in following paragraph that Carnot was full of praises for England and English engineers
for discovery and improvement of steam engine.
If the honor of a discovery belongs to the nation in which it has acquired its growth and all
its developments, this honor cannot be here refused to England. Savery, Newcomen, Smeaton,
the famous Watt, Woolf, Trevithick, and some other English engineers, are the veritable
creators of the steam-engine. It has acquired at their hands all its successive degrees of
improvement. Finally, it is natural that an invention should have its birth and especially be
developed, be perfected, in that place where its want is most strongly felt (p. 41-42).
Carnot was in active military service as an engineer for a good period of his short life. He
expresses his concern on military and industrial superiority of England over France due to
discovery of steam engine; still he showers his appreciation on England for its achievements.
In all probability, this young engineer was a humble man. His writings are a true reflection of
the noble spirit of the man himself.
CONCLUSION
Carnots contribution is unparalleled and unmatched in history of science. His book has many
interpretations and it still continues to attract new ones. The present community of students
and teachers as well is not familiar with his contributions to the field. Only a curious
researcher interested in development of classical thermodynamics to its present form or in
history of physics will come across the works of Carnot. Carnots brother Hippolyte was right
in his demand to French Academy of Sciences that Carnot should be considered the founder
of thermodynamics. The authors of this article endorse the view of Hippolyte Carnot and
other prominent researchers who express the similar views. The only reason being a pioneer
must get his due credit. Doubtless to say, this honour is now overdue to Sadi Carnot.
REFERENCES
1.
Potter, J. H., A Note on the Carnot Function, Journal of the Franklin Institute, Vol.
276, No. 6, pp. 507-518 (1963).
2.
Uffink, J., Bluff Your Way in the Second Law of Thermodynamics, Studies in
History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 305-394 (2001).
3.
Kostic, M. M., Sadi Carnots Ingenious Reasoning of Ideal Heat Engine Reversible
Cycles, Proceedings of the 4th IASME/WSEAS International Conference on Energy,
Environment, Ecosystems and Sustainable Development (EEESD'08) Algarve,
Portugal, pp. 159-166, June 11-13 (2008).

13

4.

5.
6.
7.

8.
9.
10.
11.

estk, J. et al., Contribution by Lazare and Sadi Carnot to the Caloric Theory of Heat
and its Inspirative Role in Thermodynamics, Journal of Thermal Analysis and
Calorimetry, Vol. 97, No. 2, pp. 679-683 (2009).
Erlichson, H., Sadi Carnot, Founder of the Second Law of Thermodynamics,
European Journal of Physics, Vol. 20, pp. 183-192 (1999).
Balmer, R. T., Modern Engineering Thermodynamics, Academic Press (Elsevier),
Burlington (2011).
estk, J., Thermodynamics, Information and Society: featured thoughts, Invited
plenary lecture at the conference REability, QUality and ESTimation, Proceedings
in the book: REQUEST09, Technical University Liberec, pp. 139-154 (2010).
Caloric Theory, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloric_theory
What was wrong with the caloric theory?, available at http://hsm.stackexchange.com
Srinivasan, J., Sadi Carnot and the Second Law of Thermodynamics, Resonance, pp.
42-48 (November 2001)
Caloric
theory,
available
at
www.vehicular.isy.liu.se/Edu/Courses/EngineHistory/.../ch3_4.pdf

12.
13.

14.
15.

16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

Roberts, B.W., The Success of the Caloric Theory: What Cannot be Inferred,
available at www-bcf.usc.edu/~bwrobert/research/RobertsB_Caloric.pdf
Psillos, S., A Philosophical Study of the Transition from the Caloric Theory of Heat
to Thermodynamics, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 25, No. 2. pp.
159-190 (1994).
Rumford,
Benjamin
Thompson
(1753-1814),
available
at
http://www.scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Rumford.html
Kostic, M. M., Revisiting The Second Law of Energy Degradation and Entropy
Generation: From Sadi Carnots Ingenious Reasoning to Holistic Generalization,
Symposium on: The Second Law of Thermodynamics: Status and Challenges, The
92nd Annual Meeting of the Pacific Division of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS), University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, June 1216 (2011).
Bejan, A., Research into the Origins of Engineering Thermodynamics, Int. Comm.
Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 15, pp. 571-580 (1988).
Bridgman, P. W., The Nature of Thermodynamics, p. 116, Harvard University Press,
Cambridge (1941)).
Maxwell J., Taits Thermodynamics, in W. D. Niven (ed.), Scientific Papers, Vol. 2,
pp. 660-671, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1890b).
Einstein A., Autobiographical Notes, in P. A. Schilpp (ed.), Albert Einstein,
Philosopher-Scientist, La Salle: Open Court, p. 33. (1948).
Cardwell D. S. L., From Watt to Clausius: The Rise of Thermodynamics in the Early
Industrial Age, Cornell University Press (1971).
Gutowski T. G., Sekulic D. P. and Bakshi B. R., Preliminary Thoughts on the
Application of Thermodynamics to the Development of Sustainability Criteria,
Sustainable Systems and Technology, IEEE International Symposium, pp. 1-6 (2009).

14

22.

23.
24.
25.
26.

27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.

36.

37.
38.
39.
40.
41.

Arnold V. I., Contact Geometry: The Geometrical Method of Gibbs

Thermodynamics, in D. Caldi and G. Mostow (eds), Proceedings of the Gibbs
symposium, Yale University, May 15-17, pp. 163-180, AMS Bookstore (1989).
Grigull U., Student Views on Learning Thermodynamics, Workshop on Second Law
of Thermodynamics, pp. 21.1-21.4, 27-30 August, Kayseri (1990).
Eddington A., The Nature of the Physical World, Macmillan, New York (1929).
Russell B., The Twilight of Science: Is the Universe Running Down, The Century
Magazine, Vol. 118, No. 3, pp. 311-315 (1929).
Fox R. (ed.), Sadi Carnot: Reflexions on the Motive Power of Fire: A Critical Edition
with the Surviving Scientific Manuscripts, Manchester University Press, Manchester;
Lilian Barber Press, New York (1986).
Callendar H. L., The Caloric Theory of Heat and Carnots Principle, Proceedings of
the Physical Society of London, pp. 153-189 (1911).
Snow C.P., The Two Cultures and a Second Look, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge (1959).
Truesdell C., Method and Taste in Natural Philosophy, in Six Lectures on Modern
Natural Philosophy, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 83-108 (1966).
John von Neumann, cited by Tribus and McIntire, Tribus M. and McIntire E., Energy
and Information, Scientific American, pp. 179-184 (1971).
Brush S., The Kind of Motion We Call Heat, Vol. 1, p. 581, Amsterdam: NorthHolland (1976).
Truesdell C., The Tragicomical History of Thermodynamics 1822-1854, Springer,
New York (1980).
Sunshine G., Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729) and James Watt (1736-1819), February
13, 2012, available at https://www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/columns/indepth
Barnett, M.K., Sadi Carnot and the Second Law of Thermodynamics, Osiris, Vol. 13,
pp. 327-357 (1958).
Carnot, N. L. S., Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat, edited by R.H.Thurston,
Second Revised Edition, John Wiley and Sons, New York and Chapman and Hall,
London (1897), available at www3.nd.edu/~powers/ame.20231/carnot1897.pdf.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics and Entropy, in Practical Chemical
Thermodynamics for Geoscientists, edited by B. Fegley Jr. with contributions by R.
Osborne, Academic Press (Elsevier), Amsterdam (2013).
Olander D.R., General Thermodynamics, CRC Press, First Indian Reprint, New
Delhi, p. 5 (2011).
cited by Gillispie C. C., in The Edge of Objectivity: An Essay in the History of
Scientific Ideas, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., p. 357, (1960).
Smith J.M., Van Ness H.C. and Abbott M.M., Introduction to Chemical Engineering
Thermodynamics, 6th ed., McGraw-Hill, Singapore (2001).
Wolff, S. L., Rudolph Clausius - A Pioneer of the Modern Theory of Heat, Vacuum,
Vol. 90, pp. 102-108 (2013).
Gmez, J. et al., Sadi Carnot on Carnots theorem, American Journal of Physics,
Vol. 70, No. 1, pp. 42-47 (2002).
15

42.
43.
44.

45.

46.

Ginzburg, B.Z. and Aharon, I., The Second Law of Thermodynamics Revisited,
Physica A, Vol. 210, pp. 489-495 (1994).
Raine, A. et al., The New Entropy Law and the Economic Process, Ecological
Complexity, Vol. 3, pp. 354-360 (2006).
DAbramo, G., The Peculiar Status of the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the
Quest for Its Violation, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, Vol.
43, pp. 226-235 (2012).
Gyftopoulos, E. P. and Beretta, G. P., What is the Second Law of Thermodynamics
and Are There Any Limits to its Validity? (2005), available at arxiv.org/abs/quantph/0507187S
Aquinas, T., The Summa, Part I: Theology, Summa Theologica (1274).

16