Theory of Thermodynamic Variables of Rubber Band Heat Engine

Rubber band heat engine is a heat engine that is easily applied in the experiment. However, to get the data from the experimental results are required a formulation that is able to accommodate the data, so that it will be obtained an accurate value. We show and analyze the variables thermodynamic formulation of rubber band heat engine to accommodate the experimental data, so that the equation of state, heat, work and efficiency are not only studied theoretically but also experimentally. The engine's efficiency is calculated for an idealized but reasonable model. The engine's work cycle is compared with a Carnot cycle, and it is shown to be equivalent to the Carnot cycle as an extremely ideal limiting case. We measured the force law parameters for a working model, and we obtained the efficiency of this model. (paper)