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It is impossible for any device that operates on a cycle to receive heat from a single reservoir and produce a net amount of work.

The second law of thermodynamics rules out the possibility of machines that can operate perpetually and provide energy without an input, known as perpetual motion machines of the second kind.

Carnot efficiency describes the maximum possible efficiency of a heat engine operating between two heat reservoirs, determined by their temperatures.

In any closed system, the total entropy either increases or remains constant over time, never decreasing.

Refrigerators and heat pumps require external work to transfer heat from a colder body to a hotter body, in accordance with the second law.

It is impossible to construct a device that will operate in a cycle and produce no effect other than the transfer of heat from a cooler to a hotter body.

A system is in thermodynamic equilibrium when it is in thermal, mechanical, and chemical equilibrium, resulting in no net flow of energy or matter and no change in entropy.

Heat engines operate by converting heat energy to work, and in the process, they cannot be 100% efficient due to the increase in entropy.

A spontaneous process in thermodynamics is one that occurs naturally and without external influence, leading to an increase in the entropy of the system and its surroundings.