Stirling Engine

Power a Car with Solar Generated
Electricity

Discover the Stirling engine,
a simple, clean and efficient energy technology that is quickly becoming a
viable source of electricity as the availability of fossil fuels declines.
The Stirling engine in this kit uses renewable energy from the sun to
drive a generator, which charges a rechargeable battery to power an
electric car. Named after its inventor, Robert Stirling, the original
Stirling engine dates back almost 200 years. Today, high-tech Stirling
engines are being used in arrays of giant mirrored solar collectors and
common applications like compact generators. NASA is even working on using
Stirling engines to power a human outpost on the moon!

Like a steam
engine, a Stirling engine is a heat engine that converts heat energy into
mechanical work, usually to drive a generator that then converts the
mechanical energy into electricity. But instead of water and steam, the
Stirling engine uses a permanently enclosed volume of gas, such as air or
helium, to perform the mechanical work. Stirling engines are highly
efficient, can operate very quietly, and can use many different sources of
heat: combustion of fuels, nuclear fission, geothermal, or solar heat, as
this model uses.

The Stirling engine in this kit is located in a
charging station with a mirrored parabolic dish. The dish focuses the
sun’s rays onto the cylindrical glass bulb of the Stirling engine to heat
it up. The air inside the bulb heats up and pushes a piston, which turns
an electric generator. The generator produces electricity that charges a
rechargeable battery in the car. The car runs on an electric motor powered
by the battery.

The kit includes the charging station with a beta
type Stirling engine, the electric car, and a full-color, 64-page
manual.