What is a Stirling engine?
Q: What is a Stirling engine?
A: A Stirling engine is a type of heat engine that converts heat into useful mechanical energy by moving a piston inside a cylinder within the engine.
Q: How does a Stirling engine differ from other heat engines?
A: A Stirling engine re-uses the same gas repeatedly for each stroke of the piston, so there is no noisy exhaust. Other heat engines, such as internal combustion engines in cars and steam engines used in railways, require new gas for each stroke of the piston.
Q: What does a Stirling engine need to run?
A: A Stirling engine needs a supply of heat to heat its hot parts, which can come from a fire, the sun’s rays, hot rocks near a volcano, or nuclear energy.
Q: What are the cold parts of a Stirling engine and how are they kept cold?
A: The cold parts of a Stirling engine cool the gas inside it, and they are kept cold by a stream of air or water flowing over them.
Q: Who invented the Stirling engine?
A: The Stirling engine was invented by a Scottish minister named Reverend Dr. Robert Stirling in 1816.
Q: What is the purpose of a Stirling engine?
A: The purpose of a Stirling engine is to convert heat into useful mechanical energy.
Q: What are the benefits of using a Stirling engine?
A: The benefits of using a Stirling engine include reduced noise pollution as it does not generate noisy exhaust, and the ability to use a variety of heat sources, including renewable energy such as the sun’s rays.
