Applicability To Fuel Cells and Batteries
Since fuel cells and batteries can generate useful power when all components of the system are at the same temperature, they are clearly not limited by Carnot's theorem, which states that no power can be generated when . This is because Carnot's theorem applies to engines converting thermal energy to work, whereas fuel cells and batteries instead convert chemical energy to work. Nevertheless, the second law of thermodynamics still provides restrictions on fuel cell and battery energy conversion.
Read more about this topic: Carnot's Theorem (thermodynamics)
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