

Stirling engine - yread
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyPxNNJQo9M

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jmount
The nerds go on and on about the Stirling engine as a huge lost opportunity
for heat engines. Roughly the Stirling engine is a heat engine with an extra
heat exchanger (a fairly clever idea)- but by 1884 the steam world was moving
on to turbines which themselves approach the thermodynamic ideal. The steam
turbine may not be a cute tabletop demonstration- but it pushed a lot of ships
across the Atlantic.

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yannis
The Stirling Engine has the highest theoretical efficiency compared to other
heat engine cycles (it is equivalent to that of the Carnot Cycle). Simply it
depends on the temperature difference between the hot and cold side. If you
drive it it becomes a refrigeration machine. The problem was and is materials
for practical applications. It needs highly efficient and compact heat
exchangers and also the porous nature of the re-generator is a problem. Helium
is a better gas to use, but being so light at high pressures you get leakages.

I spent more than 5 years of my life (PhD) designing, building and simulating
one (with only one moving part) and that got me in a major way into
computing:) in the late 80's-90's. I did not touch the field for many years,
but lately it has been at the back of my mind, if there are any applications
for it in nano-machines.

