How A Stirling Engine Works

A Demonstration of a low temperature differential Stirling engine and a
3D animated illustration of how it works.
This has been updated from the last Stirling engine video with countless improvements including a demo of a real Stirling engine, voice over dialog, reworked animation and rendering and much more.
The animation shows the simple concepts in detail and how they add up to make a working Stirling engine.
In the demo the Stirling engine is shown running on a cup of hot water and on a block of ice running in reverse.
It has been so fun to see everyone's comments, views and so on since I posted this video. As I mentioned in a comment, for me this was more about the Blender 3D animation software than it was about Stirling engines because it took so much time and effort to animate it. Stirling engines have also been a hobby of mine. I chose the Stirling engine topic because that seemed like something I could offer a little bit of information that non-engineers like myself could understand, and something that wasn't already extensively covered online.
I am not a professional Blender animator so this took months of effort in my spare time watching Blender tutorials, modeling, story boarding, animating, rendering, video editing, closed captioning, finding music, etc. The final cut of the animation took about 3 weeks straight of 24 hour rendering. One reason I don't have more videos is because the couple of videos I have took so much work that I got kind of burned out. But in the end I've sure enjoyed these projects and all of your comments, etc. Thanks for watching!

[@SteveMould]

This really helped me understand my Stirling engine. Thank you!

[@terrytytula]

Ditto

[@mcb187]

Yup

[@bobthesir1467]

I just got here from your video!

[@cringium]

Oh cool hi

[@frankthom5761]

Yes , a first rate explanation

[@TheAngryCanary]

Great Video! Finally really made me understand that the displacer piston is not affected by pressure differentials, but rather is moved by the power piston. All the other animations I've ever seen made me think the displacer piston was pushed on the bottom by expanding hot air while the top was pulled up by the vacuum of condensing air. I finally understand that only the power piston is effected, because it has one side to atmospheric pressure, and the displacer piston is just there to move around the gas so the gas is expanding or condensing overall... whew! So weird that I never really understood that before... now I can look at a stirling engine without my head hurting. Thank you!

[@mstreeter11]

You're welcome! Thank you and everyone else for the nice comments.

[@ThoughtVandal]

I had the exact same issue! This is the first time I could really understand how it works.

[@KM-bx7gf]

This video is wonderful and this comment allowed me to understand this concept that I may have missed without reading this. Thank you both for your time!!!

[@smellthecoffee5314]

Me too - thanks for clearing that up

[@ferdinandheld5432]

I concur it finally made sense to me in this video and your comment helped it sink in. Thank you both it was making me crazy for a while, I’ll sleep better tonight . LoL 🙏

[@35906]

Thank you! After watching 4 other "How it works" videos, I still didn't have a clue. Now I do. Thank you very much. Perfectly explained!!!

[@ChayDonohoe]

That's probably the best explanation I've see on how a stirling engine works. Thanks!

[@coreycarpenter2489]

I am only half way through and this is already the best explanation of a Stirling Engine. Thank you.

[@otakufish]

Just watched 5 other videos about how a Sterling engine works before finding this one. This was the first one that actually made sense. Thanks for explaining the concept and not just the construction =)

[@ws2228]

Same here, the ice part was really cool.

[@teckeleddie]

Micheal, thank you for your time, effort and very simple explanation. I think these models are brilliant, and i am planning to build one myself.

[@antoniojusticiaruiz]

You really made a fantastic video, the best one about stirling engines by far, you really explained the basics in such a way everybody can understand it. Great job

[@mikeportjogger1]

I've seen a lot of videos trying to describe how Stirling engines work. Yours is by far the clearest.

[@RoyArrowood]

Thank you! I appreciate that you broke it down to where each force is acting when and what the cause of the force is. Great explanation!

[@RoyArrowood]

Liked and subscribed btw

[@bluehill1275]

Great Video! Yours is the first one that I've come across where someone actually talks and D explains what's going on. Easier to grasp the concept, at least for me. I was starting to think that none of the Sterling Engine crowd could speak. Thanks for a great and informative video!

[@kieranfester3296]

This is a really good video. Compared to the other videos I've seen, this guy really knows how to explain things well. He introduces concepts and computer generated models sequentially so that you understand operations from the simple on to the more complex. BRAVO 👏 Others can definitely learn from you

[@nantunest]

Best Stirling cycle explanation on KZbin! Thank you!

[@pepsiatlas5452]

what a great explanation. i think the reason it works so well is leaving the dispalcer out to begin with.

[@limrc1]

Best explanation of the engine that uses the power piston! Thanks for sharing!!

[@AhmedQais999]

Thank you, I searched a lot for a full explanation that explains the details of the mechanism of work, and this explanation is the best

[@shiraoune]

Is this about thermodynamics?

[@TropicalEncounter]

Thats awesome. Thanks for taking the time to make this video. You've done a great job at explaining the cycle in an easy to follow manor.

[@clout123]

This is outstanding. Short and to the point, and really helped me understand. Like many people, all the other explanations were confusing me about how it works. Thank you for such a great video!

[@gregs6403]

This is the only video in the results for “how a sterling engine works” that is worth watching. Thank you!

[@drewga403]

Best explanation of this - PERIOD. Thank you!

[@graphixkillzzz]

I watched two other Stirling engine "how it works" vids, both were over ten minutes, I didn't get either of them being the expanding gases makes it all move. This vid at less than five minutes explained it all much more efficiently. Than you for this vid :)

[@Billy_Gnosis]

Really informative. Thanks! Learning about different types of solar thermal power production (which includes Stirling engines), so naturally I ended up here.

[@Abc-vr7tk]

Finally, the video that really explain how the motor works !!!! U were able to transfer the ideas. Great video, thank u.

[@lhlinn7351]

The best explanation of a sterling engine that I have seen. Thank you!

[@snijkens9111]

Clear explanation and now I know the diffrence between hot cold (stirling)engine and an internal combustion engine. I hope to see more about these kind of fun science facts and mysteries

[@kitten_processing_inc4415]

You are the first person I have encountered who can explain a Sterling engine in plain English. Thanks, for this useful video!

[@iwestbury]

Michael, really nice job at explaining and demonstrating the principle. Well done and thanks!

[@MRGCProductions20996]

you have no idea how much i apreciatte you

[@tommytwin24]

Thanks so much! understood all the principles behind the engine, but wasn't really grasping how it all came together. Watched a few other videos that were mostly flashy demos, when I just wanted a simple animation, time to watch it, and a clear explanation!

[@tonye2465]

I have been looking at vids for this engine for a few weeks and have wanted to try to make one for myself. I have looked at a few various "how too" vids but i was none the wiser on the priciples of the actual workings of the engine. Thankyou Michael S, i got a good idea now from your excellent explaination and demo.

[@shandonfrank]

Best explanation of a Stirling Engine I've heard.

[@JefftheDonkeyGuy]

The best I have found, by a large margin. Now I understand. Thank you very much.

[@sebastianh8829]

This is litteraly the only video on stirling engines that actually explains it well.

[@gpetheri]

Finally an explanation that makes sense!! Thanks Michael.

[@benjaminjin3544]

I need to make a presentation in physics explaining how a Stirling engine works. Thanks to you, I finally understood

[@rasberryjam2178]

This is the best production that explains Stirling engines both in animation and examples. I have watched many but most videos seem to assume you know more about the engine than you do. Thank you for producing such a well made and explanatory video. I wish others would take notice of this and do it in a similar format as you have.

[@shmendez_]

Yes!

[@merciadragon9425]

Going back many years when I was living in Western Australia I was working at the siding called Hines Hill & in the bar of the hotel they had a Stirling engine fan. The driving force was a small flame I think produced by kerosene. If the only one I've ever seen and it is always add me fascinated and it is memories of that that brought me to this page. Thank you very much for the explanation.

[@shaunsprogress]

Best description of the gamma engine I've found!

[@jaimegutierrez5125]

Great video. You really made it simple to understand how it works. Thanks

[@WhyAndHowAR]

simple, clear and amazing thank you

[@baljindersembhi]

One of the through video reference for how sterling engine works. Thanks.

[@matteogabrielmecattaf673]

Thank you very much, in my opinion, best explanation out there.

[@monkeymadman420]

nice explanation, I was having a hard time understanding how this model of Stirling engines worked. this was the best explanation.

[@PrinceCezar27]

Finally. Someone who actually EXPLAINS it.

[@1993VolkswagenPassatGLXVR6]

Thank you! I wanted to build a stirling engine but all of the sources I could find would tell the function in a confusing manner, with different sources giving different answers. This really helped!

[@liamknott6665]

Thank you, that was a really clear description

[@gianpieromontalbano2787]

Thanks a lot Michael, it is the best explanation of striling engine!

[@ytrichardsenior]

lovely video. well done

[@nikpit1968]

Outstanding explanation! Well done!

[@RS-nh9gu]

Thank you for sharing. Indeed helped me a lot. It was a big motivation for me to build one. Thank you again.

[@mstreeter11]

Thanks :) I enjoyed making it.

[@combcomclrlsr]

The explanation of the displacer was helpful.

[@ajaykilari974]

Thank u soo much brother..I understood clearly what a Stirling engine is

[@pascalbruyere7108]

Best explanation so far. Many explanations are creating confusion between piston and displacer.

[@stevemurray2017]

Very, very good!!! And almost perfect. Since you have such great animation, I would add arrows or some other way of showing the air expanding below the displacer and moving into the power piston and then the cooler air above the displacer contracting and pulling down the power piston. Thank you very much for a great explanation!!!!

[@pierre5325]

So simple the explanation. Very good this video. Thanks to you! André

[@richardsilvera5926]

Excellent explanation of how it works. After watching several others,I finally got it. My

[@Mamoo480]

Simple and best explanation I ever come across, nice one

[@1231teejay]

Very Good video, been reading into this a while and this has been the most informative!

[@dreamjob1417]

You did that beautifully

[@SoakedAirPods]

Thank you so much -from South Korea

[@UjjwalDubey1994]

Thank you for the brilliant explanation.

[@johnsongetdown]

Exceptionally well explained! Such basic thermodynamics explained like crap all over the internet. You have however done a very good job! Thank You!

[@Oldtimerider]

Well done! Best explanation I’ve found.

[@PaVIThRa9188]

Thank you so much for this , Finally this help me to understand the action of Stirling engine !!!

[@AB-kg9yx]

You have the only correct and good explanation of this on youtube haha. Thank you.

[@simonabbott]

This was a great explanation

[@yippykaiyay012]

Great visual explanation, cheers!

[@Belair156]

Very well done. Great explanation!

[@Stephen...]

This is a great explanation. Just fantastic!!!

[@Johny40Se7en]

Wicked video. That engine is a marvel of engineering 🙂😊

[@roxanazhang8065]

i cant say more thanks for u, such a good-designed video! i can not know more clearly about the striling engine!!!!

[@conordia6906]

Niiiice, thanks for the video, great explanation. I dig the graphics too, well done 👏

[@satsite13]

Thank you! What a joy to understand the world just a little bit more.

[@rockwithyou2006]

Best explanation on KZbin

[@rockwithyou2006]

Dear Michael, can you please tell me where you bought this Stirling Engine from ? thanks

[@youpeebix]

perfect explanation!

[@Dookiedolf]

Nice explanation & animated video. Good stuff :)

[@dimitri_reis]

Excelent animation/explanation !!!!!

[@mstreeter11]

Thank you! And thanks to everyone for the kind comments. I see them but I don't reply to all of them because I don't want to say the same thing over and over, but I really appreciate everyone's comments!

[@davemcddd]

This hit my recommended list in early 2021. Even 7 1/2 years later it's still the best explanation of how a Stirling engine works. Great job!

[@Vladeno]

Thanks, Michael, very nice!

[@henrikb.andersen5150]

Very educating,- thanks

[@markmessa5888]

Nice explanation! Congratulations!

[@andrewanderson8803]

I didnt understand before. I thought the big piston was actually the one being acted on, but to my surprise it is the smaller piston that is acted upon! Great explanation.

[@zanelennox8263]

Great vid. Thanks.

[@diyengines]

Very good tutorial!!

[@mstreeter11]

Thanks! :)

[@superfly1842]

such a nice guy. thanks for sharing.

[@dorianl.210]

well done!

[@Adam-yu5zj]

Very informative. Thank you so much

[@CheddarBayBaby]

This was helpful. Thanks!

[@chrisleves7299]

absolute legend

[@frncsngy]

Simple and clear explanation.

[@priyanks91]

Literally the best video on SEs. Simplistically done, marvelously explained. Thank you ! The only thing I don't understand is that how is it enough time for the air to exchange heat, when the engine movies at such high RPMs..

[@mstreeter11]

Thanks! Yes, it's amazing and counter-intuitive that the air can expand and contract so fast.

[@ws2228]

Magic?

[@mstreeter11]

Thank you!

[@ptvdv]

thanks for the good explanation :)

[@123snowball]

Nice video. Clear explanation, graphics sand demonstration.

[@risky1]

very instructive.... thank you so much.

[@mohamedfarid7499]

thank you Mr Michael for this explain prototype and animation help any one not engineer understand the concept hot gas engine

[@raindropsgal_9247]

Thanks so MUCH!!!!

[@mstreeter11]

Glad you liked it!

[@shmendez_]

I love this video I watched it because I have one and wanted to know how it works thank you very much

[@domenicozagari2443]

You don't need the dis-placer, just drill some holes on the top of the cylinder to let cool air in and hot air out.