MAGAZINE ARTICLES ABOUT THE STIRLING ENGINE
There is an interesting article about the Stirling engine in Popular Mechanics Magazine. The article is titled Space Power Needs under Tech Update. This is what it says:
"Cleveland, OH- Options for space power generation continue to
multiply. One NASA contractor, Mechanical Technology, Inc., is
developing a 25-kilowatt generator based on the Stirling engine. A
technology demonstrator model is already functioning.
Inside a Stirling engine, gas expands and contracts as heat
is added and removed. Pistons inside sealed cylinders are moved by
the changes in gas pressure. Stirling's advantages include a lack of
wearing parts and excellent efficiency."
A very interesting and exciting application but it sure looks difficult and expensive
to build. This Liquid Piston version of the Stirling engine made from pipe fitting takes care of both problems.
An article titled "NIGHT AND DAY SOLAR" in Popular Science, tells of a very
important breakthrough in the practical use of solar energy for power generation and storage for individual home
use! It is too long to reproduce here, but these people have apparently solved a major problem inherent in practical
solar power generation; that of power storage for nighttime use. Some highlights:
The West German company, Bomin Solar, has developed a system
which yields a 24 hour solar energy harvest suitable for either home
or community use. "With thermo-chemical storage and a Stirling engine,
it will provide a family with round-the-clock electricity, heat, refrigeration,
and air conditioning," says Bomin's vice president and technical director,
Hans Jurgen Kleinwachter.
Using only a 107-square foot solar reflector, in one
day the power plant produces 11 kilowatt-hours of electricity, 13 kilowatt-
hours of heat for cooking, and 10 kilowatt-hours of energy for both water
heating and cooling, according to Kleinwachter.
I find this incredible! The solar water heater on our home does a great job of heating lots of very hot water, but it uses 85-square feet if flat plate collectors to do it.
Their thermo chemical storage system uses nickel doped magnesium powder, which has an exceptional
energy storage density for a given volume, perhaps forty times that of lead-acid batteries. This material looks
and feels like brown talcum powder and has no odor, according to the article. They say a ten-square-meter system
would need fifty kilograms of powder. That's only the weight of three average car batteries!
The Stirling engine is their power plant of choice to drive a generator in this application.
Developments like this one give genuine hope that we can soon call the power company and ask them to remove
that ugly power pole and meter, and best of all, stop sending us that monthly bill!