Archive for the ‘Thermodynamics’ Category
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Click on photo to enlarge
The above diagram of the ideal Stirling cycle shows how a displacer-type engine (gamma configuration) would implement the cycle. Note that the displacer and power piston operate independently. During the expansion and compression phases the power piston moves and the displacer is stationary. During the heating ...
Posted in Thermodynamics | 2 Comments »
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
Solar Power—Radiation from the sun received on Earth
Here is some basic information for those interested in converting solar radiation into power. At the average earth-sun distance of 92.9 million miles the solar radiation intensity is:
435 BTU/(ft2-hr) or 1370 watts/meter2.
After going through the atmosphere and reaching the ground the values drop ...
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
Everyone knows it takes heat to raise the temperature of something, whether it’s the air in your house or a kettle on the stove. If you want to design heat engines or use solar power to elevate the temperature of something, it helps if you can determine how much heat ...
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