斯特灵循环和奥托循环相似，但绝热过程被替换为等温过程：

1. 循环路径的上边和下边：一对准平行的等温过程
2. 循环路径的左边和右边：一对平行的等容过程

• Halliday, Resnick & Walker. Fundamentals of Physics, 5th edition. John Wiley & Sons, 1997. Chapter 21, Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
• Walter Greiner; Ludwig Neise, Horst Stöcker. Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics. Springer. 2008-05-23. ISBN 978-0387942995 （英语）.