Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot

Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot was a French physicist and engineer, often referred to as the "father of thermodynamics." In the 1820s, he developed concepts about heat engines and efficiency, showing that no engine can be more efficient than a Carnot engine, which operates between two temperatures. His work laid the foundation for the second law of thermodynamics, stating that heat naturally flows from hot to cold and that some energy is always lost as waste. Carnot's ideas helped us understand energy conversion and efficiency, influencing both science and engineering profoundly.