At a power plant that produces 1 GW (
(a) What is the maximum possible efficiency of this plant?
(b) Suppose you develop a new material for making pipes and turbines, which allows the maximum steam temperature to be raised to 600°C. Roughly how much money can you make in a year by installing your improved hardware, if you sell the additional electricity for 5 cents per kilowatt-hour? (Assume that the amount of fuel consumed at the plant is unchanged.)
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solutionChapter 4 Solutions
An Introduction to Thermal Physics
Additional Science Textbook Solutions
College Physics
University Physics with Modern Physics (14th Edition)
Sears And Zemansky's University Physics With Modern Physics
Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach, Vol. 1 (Chs 1-21) (4th Edition)
Essential University Physics (3rd Edition)
- (a) How long will the energy in a 1470kJ (350kcal) cup of yogurt last in a woman doing work at the rate of 150 W with an efficiency of 20.0% (such as in leisurely climbing stairs)? (b) Does the time found in part (a) imply that it is easy to consume more food energy than you can reasonably expect to work off with exercise?arrow_forwardA coal power plant consumes 100,000 kg of coal per hour and produces 500 MW of power. If the heat of combustion of coal is 30 MJ/kg, what is the efficiency of the power plant?arrow_forwardA coal power plant consumes 100,000 kg of coal per hour and produces 500 MW of power. If the heat of combustion of coal is 30 MJ/kg, what is the efficiency of the power plant?arrow_forward
- A copper rod of cross-sectional area 5.0 cm2 and length 5.0 m conducts heat from a heat reservoir at 373 K to one at 273 K. What is the time rate of change of the universe's entropy for this process?arrow_forward(a) How much food energy will a man metabolize in the process of doing 35.0 kJ of work with an efficiency of 5.00%? (b) How much heal transfer occurs to the environment to keep his temperature constant? Explicitly show how you follow the steps in the Problem—Solving Strategy for thermodynamics found in Problem-Solving Strategies for Thermodynamics.arrow_forwardA refrigerator has 18.0 kJ of work clone on it while 115kJ of energy is transferred from inside its interior. What is its coefficient of performance? (a) 3.40 (b) 2.80 (c) 8.90 (d) 6.40 (e) 5.20arrow_forward
- (a) What is the change in entropy if you start with 10 coins in the 5 heads and 5 tails macrostate, toss them, and get 2 heads and 8 tails? (b) How much more likely is 5 heads and 5 tails than 2 heads and 8 tails? (Take the ratio of the number of microstates to find out.) (c) If you were betting on 2 heads and 8 tails would you accept odds of 252 to 45? Explain Why or why not. Table 15.5 10Coin Toss MacrostateNumber of Microstates (W) Heads Tails 10 0 1 9 1 10 8 2 45 7 3 120 6 4 210 5 5 252 4 6 210 3 7 120 2 8 45 1 9 10 0 10 1 Total: 1024arrow_forwardA heat pump has a coefficient of performance of 3.80 and operates with a power consumption of 7.03 103 W. (a) How much energy does it deliver into a home during 8.00 h of continuous operation? (b) How much energy does it extract from the outside air?arrow_forward
- Principles of Physics: A Calculus-Based TextPhysicsISBN:9781133104261Author:Raymond A. Serway, John W. JewettPublisher:Cengage LearningPhysics for Scientists and Engineers, Technology ...PhysicsISBN:9781305116399Author:Raymond A. Serway, John W. JewettPublisher:Cengage LearningCollege PhysicsPhysicsISBN:9781938168000Author:Paul Peter Urone, Roger HinrichsPublisher:OpenStax College
- Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Foundations...PhysicsISBN:9781133939146Author:Katz, Debora M.Publisher:Cengage Learning