Reversible/​Carnot cycles in heat engines are a theoretical model that describe a system with perfect efficiency within each of the cycles. The Carnot heat engine is a model used in Thermodynamics 1 to introduce heat engines to students. The point of this is to allow students to focus on the four constituent cycles of the heat engine without worrying about tracking inefficiencies. It is, of course, impossible to design a heat engine that is operating at perfect efficiency with perfect reversibility.
Your are correct in your assumption that the Carnot cycle is just a distillation of the core principles of heat engines. Because of this, the Carnot model also helps at a higher level by helping students understand that:
The efficiency of a reversible heat engine is always greater than that of an irreversible one
Any reversible heat engines operating on the same two reservoirs have the same efficiency
The violation of either of these statements violates the second law, since order cannot be restored to a system, the only possible movement is an increase in disorder and subsequent lower of efficiency.
Reversible/​Carnot cycles in heat engines are a theoretical model that describe a system with perfect efficiency within each of the cycles. The Carnot heat engine is a model used in Thermodynamics 1 to introduce heat engines to students. The point of this is to allow students to focus on the four constituent cycles of the heat engine without worrying about tracking inefficiencies. It is, of course, impossible to design a heat engine that is operating at perfect efficiency with perfect reversibility.
Your are correct in your assumption that the Carnot cycle is just a distillation of the core principles of heat engines. Because of this, the Carnot model also helps at a higher level by helping students understand that:
The efficiency of a reversible heat engine is always greater than that of an irreversible one
Any reversible heat engines operating on the same two reservoirs have the same efficiency
The violation of either of these statements violates the second law, since order cannot be restored to a system, the only possible movement is an increase in disorder and subsequent lower of efficiency.