Sadi Carnot
1796–1832, Paris, France, Ivry-sur-Seine, France
French military engineer and physicist who laid foundations for thermodynamics by analyzing the limits on heat-engine efficiency.
Carnot studied at the École Polytechnique and served in the French Army Corps of Engineers. Alongside his military duties, he investigated how steam engines could be improved and the fundamental limits on converting heat into work.
In Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu (1824), he analyzed ideal heat engines and argued that maximum efficiency depends on the temperatures of the two reservoirs, not on the working substance. The reversible Carnot cycle became a benchmark for studying limits on efficiency.
Workplaces: French Army Corps of Engineers, École polytechnique
France