carnot

< /ˈnɪk ə ləs ˈlɛn ərd ˈsæd i; French ni kɔˈlɑ leɪ ɔˈnar saˈdi/, 1796–1832, French physicist: pioneer in the field of thermodynamics.

noun

1. Lazare (Nicolas Marguerite) (lazar), known as the Organizer of Victory . 1753–1823, French military engineer and administrator: organized the French Revolutionary army (1793–95)
2. Nicolas Léonard Sadi (nikɔlɑ leɔnar sadi). 1796–1832, French physicist, whose work formed the basis for the second law of thermodynamics, enunciated in 1850; author of Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu (1824).

1. French physicist and engineer who founded the science of thermodynamics. He was the first to analyze the working cycle and efficiency of the steam engine according to scientific principles. Through his experiments Carnot developed what would become the second law of thermodynamics and laid the foundation for work by Kelvin, Joule, and others.