An Inventor Has Created a Heat Engine That Extracts Energy

question 54

Multiple Choice

An inventor has created a heat engine that extracts energy from geothermal hotspots and geysers like Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. She claims to turn all of the geothermal energy into work. Such a device is

• A) a violation of the first law of thermodynamics.
• B) consistent with Clausius's statement of the second law of thermodynamics.
• C) only possible for a Carnot cycle.
• D) a violation of Kelvin's statement of the second law of thermodynamics.

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Definitions:

Retained Earnings

The portion of net income not distributed as dividends to shareholders but retained by the company for reinvestment in its core business, or to pay debt.

Common Stock

A type of equity ownership in a corporation, where holders have voting rights and potentially receive dividends.

Capital Surplus

funds raised by a company through issuing shares at a price above their par value.

Marginal Tax Rates

The rate of tax applied to your next dollar of income, indicating the percentage of tax imposed on additional income.