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why is the Carnot cycle reversible while the Otto cycle irreversible according to Kelvin-planck statement

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Edit: The answer below may be misleading. See for instance this Physics SE post for a discussion of the reversible Otto cycle. Thanks to @hyportnex and @Chemomechanics for the correction.

The Carnot cycle is reversible because all heat transfer occurs between systems at equal temperature. This is not the case in the Otto cycle, which is therefore irreversible because to run it in reverse you would need heat to flow spontaneously from a colder body to a warmer body.

You may well ask "why would heat flow from one system to another if the two systems are at the same temperature?" Well, it wouldn't, and this is why the Carnot cycle is an idealization; it can't actually be realized. You could try to approach the Carnot cycle in a real-world implementation by making the temperature difference between system and reservoir during the isothermal processes infinitesimal. In the limit where the difference goes to zero, you would obtain the Carnot cycle. But note that the rate of heat transfer would also approach zero due to the vanishing temperature difference, so in this limit the time required to run through a cycle approaches infinity.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you very much for your answer. But would you please explain the reason for the reversibility of the Carnot cycle and irreversibility of the Otto cycle in terms of one of the statements (kelvin-planck or clausius) of the second law of thermodynamics? $\endgroup$
    – xxx
    Commented May 8, 2023 at 9:25
  • $\begingroup$ You are confusing thermodynamic efficiency with reversibility. The Carnot cycle is reversible because at every step it is done reversibly not because the heat transfer is done isothermally. If its adiabatic stages were done irreversibly the cycle would be irreversible. Similarly, one can perform the Otto cycle (adiabatic-isochoric-adiabatic-isochoric + isobaric) reversibly if each step is reversible and we know that in principle it can be done that way. If that were not the case the conventional $p-V$ diagram representing the cycle could not even be drawn. $\endgroup$
    – hyportnex
    Commented May 8, 2023 at 12:21
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    $\begingroup$ The reversible Otto cycle is discussed in this other Physics SE answer and shown schematically here, for instance, so I think the answer may be off the mark or may need clarification. The resolution to the discrepancy may involve the additional idealization of an infinite number of available thermal reservoirs; as already noted, multiple idealizations are necessary when conceiving of a reversible heat engine/pump cycle. $\endgroup$ Commented May 8, 2023 at 18:09
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks @hyportnex and Chemomechanics for the clarifications. I see that my understanding of the subject may not be quite right. I'll add a link to the other Physics SE answer in the post. $\endgroup$
    – Jakob KS
    Commented May 9, 2023 at 7:11

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