Not o/u but still should get more attention, The stirling engine

[d3adp00l]

Yup seen those, but I think that they would benifit greatly with these suggestions:

1. use the classic two cyclinder design(the one that is at a right angle).

2. Water cool the cool side of the motor.

3. check expansion rates, and if it works out, make the hot side and cool side cylinders from copper, better heat tranfer.

4. Provide a thermal barrier between the hot side and cold side, some kind of ceramic for the crankshaft housing.

5. Use a double reflective parabola, one dish gathers and focuses on a small dish which reflects the light through a small hole in the large dish to the top of the cylinder, thus allowing the motor to hide in the shade and only exposing the one part that needs heat. Makes the water cooling work better too.

6. Use a cooling tower for the water, water is ran through the motor then through a radiator/heat exchanger, then to a nozzle the mists the water in a small tower that has an up draft airflow, the temperature drop in cooling towers like that is very effective, and very efficient for the energy needed to do it. = not much energy use to run water X greater temperature drop after being heated.

A 6 foot dish, 2 meters for our meter friends, is 3.14 yards^2 or 3.14  meters^2, and if sunlight is about 1000watts per yard, and we get 75% of that = 750 X 3.14= 2355 watts / 120v = 19.65 amps .  Thats over twice what my house runs on, so with some batteries I could tell the electric company to pound sand.

Yes I think I need one of these. Heck two if I got the money.

Anyone know where to get a good sun tracker system for cheap?

[Nastrand2000]

or you could use one of these lenses....
http://xenotechresearch.com/solfurn1.htm

[d3adp00l]

fresnel lense are a thought too.