On Thu, 22 Sep 2005, Byron A Jeff wrote: > Funny. I did have a thought. I realized that instead of putting the engine in > the focal point of the collector, that instead use another mirror to beam the > concentrated sunlight down onto the engine. So the focal point will have a lot less > sun blockage. The next thing is that the engine itself is going to have to track with > the collector. Imagine the whole setup on a beam that swings from east to west each > day. Look at how a Newton or Coude setup works. You do not need to move the engine at all. > What would be the temp cycling for superheated water injected into the cylinder? > What pressure would superheated water need to be in order to get in the ballpark > temp of a 600-700C steam chamber? Most steam tables stop at 370 deg. C. At 370 deg. C it's 210 bar. Here is a calculator: http://www.efunda.com/materials/water/steamtable_sat.cfm Now a 210 bar steam generator would be interesting to build in your garage ... I think that the Shuttle's main engines operate at such pressures. Maybe the design could be adapted ... I don't think that the combustion pressure reaches 210 bar in a normal (Otto) engine. Peter -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist