The Collaborative International Dictionary
Carnot's cycle
Carnot's cycle \Car`not's" cy"cle\ (k[aum]r`n[=o]z"). [After N. L. S. Carnot, French physicist.] (Thermodynamics) An ideal heat-engine cycle in which the working fluid goes through the following four successive operations: (1) Isothermal expansion to a desired point; (2) adiabatic expansion to a desired point; (3) isothermal compression to such a point that (4) adiabatic compression brings it back to its initial state.
Usage examples of "carnot's cycle".
He doubted the existence of the deity, but accepted Carnot's cycle, and he had read Shakespeare and found him weak in chemistry.