^ James You are so right about failures not being documented. This means that they are repeated over and over. The next step in human evolution will include the propensity to document failed attempts. Look for my novel (1) to come out in 2007. I will be using this idea in it. (1) The 60,000 Year Experiment AGSC ^ On 2006-Aug 25, at 17:45hrs PM, James Newtons Massmind wrote: >> But what is most important to me is that there are viable options >> OTHER than stirlings for turning heat into energy that are NOT >> developed due to the continued "promise" of stirlings. > > I intend to attempt a niche Stirling investigation sometime > in the next year. If I am successful, and it just might > happen, you will hear more about it :-) Actually, I think this is part of the problem: "If I am successful... You will hear about it" The problem is that we DON'T hear about all the Unsuccessful stirling projects. Documenting failure is important. I do it, for example, with my server: http://www.massmind.org/techref/servfail.htm and people hit that web page all the time, referred from Google, searching for one of the error messages that I have documented. If all the stirling failures and eCar battery failures and community designed programmer failures were documented, people would move on and try some of the things that haven't failed a million times already. Just my humble opinion, of course, and I would LOVE nothing more than for Russell or anyone to prove me wrong and develop an efficient, long lasting, low cost of operation stirling engine. In the mean time... there are viable options OTHER than stirlings for turning heat into energy that are NOT developed due to the continued "promise" of stirlings. And some of them are dirt cheap or will within the means of the average home machinist. For example: http://techref.massmind.org/techref/member/plp-actcom-f00/sun- turbo-1.htm Possible quite efficient, long lasting, not terribly expensive. http://techref.massmind.org/techref/idea/mc-heat-inject.htm Not efficient but cheap as all heck. http://www.flashsteam.com/ Not efficient, expensive, but probably long lasting. If he would use solar, the efficiency doesn't matter so much. http://www.redrok.com/engine.htm Lots of information on many alternatives. Not many completed projects. http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2003/6/26/10248/0825 Lots of crazy ideas just waiting to be tried. And in keeping with "money where mouth is" I am interested in providing partial financial support for the attempted development of any of the above or other reasonable heat engine ideas OTHER than stirling. In return I get non-exclusive publishing rights. You just have to document what you do and the outcome. Pictures, simple text descriptions, measurements of the result. It doesn't have to actually work, in fact, failure is GREAT because it shows what not to do in the future. --- James. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ AGSC Augustus Gustavius Salvatore Calabrese 4337 Raleigh Street Denver, CO 720 222 1309 303 908 7716 cell adding " spam2006 " bypasses my spam blocker. Please place in the text or at the END of the subject line. ( i am hard to reach by phone ) All ideas, text, drawings and audio , that are originated by me, and included with this signature are to be deemed to be released to the public domain as of the date of this communication . AGSC ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist