A Carnot cycle is an ideal thermodynamic cycle proposed by French physicist Sadi Carnot in

1824 and expanded upon by others in the 1830s and 1840s. By Carnot's theorem, it provides an
upper limit on the efficiency of any classical thermodynamic engine during the conversion
of heat into work, or conversely, the efficiency of a refrigeration system in creating a temperature
difference through the application of work to the system.

In a Carnot cycle, a system or engine transfers energy in the form of heat between two thermal
reservoirs at temperatures and (referred to as the hot and cold reservoirs, respectively), and a
part of this transferred energy is converted to the work done by the system. The cycle
is reversible, and there is no generation of entropy. (In other words, entropy is conserved;
entropy is only transferred between the thermal reservoirs and the system without gain or loss of
it.) When work is applied to the system, heat moves from the cold to hot reservoir (heat
pump or refrigeration). When heat moves from the hot to the cold reservoir, the system applies
work to the environment. The work done by the system or engine to the environment per Carnot
cycle depends on the temperatures of the thermal reservoirs and the entropy transferred from the
hot reservoir to the system per cycle such as