No Jargon - How A Stirling Engine Works

[mklotz]

Good explanation; well done.

Two remarks...

I find when explaining my engines to novices that the major source of confusion is the displacer. Never add to the confusion by referring to it as a piston. It's called a displacer for a reason. Emphasize that it doesn't fit tightly in the chamber and the loose fit allows it to move air from the hot side to the cold side. You've done this well in your video so viewers should get the idea.

Explain why the engine was created. After all, the table-top size models produce only tiny fractions of the power provided by a similarly sized steam or gas engine. Reverend Stirling was appalled by the number of his parishioners killed or maimed by boiler explosions in the early days of steam. He set out to build an engine that would not require or produce high pressures during operation. His "air engine", now known as the Stirling, was the result. Today, its efficiency (as high as 50% in some examples) and ability to use almost any heat source, including "waste" heat, allow it to fill niches that steam and gas engines cannot.