Stirling engines - an old idea that's leading the way

Signup for your FREE trial to The Great Courses Plus here: ow.ly/B24830rkCR0.
More Stirling engines! Technology! SCIENCE! A museum! Building things! Problems! Opportunities!
Support me on Patreon: / lindybeige
See the earlier video for a full explanation of how the engines work: • Stirling Engines - the...
See here for purchasing the engine shown (and others). Note that this channel gets a 6% cut of the retail price.
Stirling Engine Kit: bit.ly/3udk18R
More Stirling Engine: bit.ly/2Pt9LdI
12% Off Coupon Code: 2021
#Stirling #engine #science
Buy the music - the music played at the end of my videos is now available here: lindybeige.bandcamp.com/track...
Buy tat (merch):
outloudmerch.com/collections/...
More videos here:
All Lindybeige: • All Lindybeige
Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
▼ Follow me...
Twitter: / lindybeige I may have some drivel to contribute to the Twittersphere, plus you get notice of uploads.
Facebook: / lindybeige
My website:
www.LloydianAspects.co.uk
Channel page:
/ lindybeige

[@JillBearup]

“Reality always gets in the way of a good idea.” So true.

[@Peanutjoepap24]

I had the odd suspicion you were a fan of Lloyd. Perhaps with your next fighting dress, make it Beige.

[@JillBearup]

@@Peanutjoepap24 You can’t just steal a chap’s gimmick like that! 😁 Maybe we can send Lindy a beige fighting dress. 👗

[@timbrocklehurst875]

Oooh, a Jill and Lindybeige collaboration! That would be awesome!

[@JillBearup]

@@timbrocklehurst875 #lifegoals, as the kids say 😁

[@misterjder1.831]

Didn't expect you to be here. Indeed a nice surprise.

[@elfinfluff]

Lindy was so focused on trying to put sterling engines on nordic data centers that he never stopped to think about putting them on nordic pizza ovens.

[@martinseelig585]

or saunas

[@martinsmolik2449]

@@martinseelig585 That sounds better! You actually want a sauna to be insulated

[@WASDLeftClick]

And you can use the snow to keep the cooling plate cool. You just have to keep the Fins from jumping into that particular patch of snow after using the sauna.

[@gramursowanfaborden5820]

if he did put them on Nordic pizza ovens, where would the cats go? cats would be displaced en-masse with such an innovation, it might cause a revolt! data centres are a much safer bet.

[@ddegn]

You want to pizza ovens to stay warm. Sterling engines move the heat from the hot side to the cold side. The data center idea is actually a better idea. The heat is still conducted away, just not as fast as other cooling strategies.

[@spartan8705]

God, Lindybeige has barely changed his style over the years I love it

[@appa609]

Nah his videos used to be 2 minute punchy points.

[@stuartaharris]

If it ain't broke don't fix it. 😉

[@billsmith5109]

It’s Lindybeige, not Lindyflashy.

[@sepg5084]

And another Stirling Engine video

[@haydenamaro]

How would you describe his style? I'd describe it as "Took way too much adderall in the history museum".

[@5thearth]

Re: heat of fusion, Cody's Lab did an interesting video where he demonstrated that if you fill a hot water bottle with hot melted parrafin wax, it will stay hot longer than if you fill it with hot water. As the parrafin cools and solidifies, it releases the heat of fusion, and so stays at a fairly uniform hot temperature until completely solid. (You can then reuse it by bathing it in hot water to remelt the wax). Hot water, in contrast, gets steadily colder over time.

[@ballHand]

Do you know the name of the video? Can't seem to find it

[@thebigmacd]

@@ballHand "Hot Wax Bottle?"

[@richardhicks5031]

Its always cool know that people watch Cody's videos

[@petenell5807]

Its a property of melting. Same effect with ice for example. But in that case its melting point is cold at 0c. So you can control the temperature of the hold state by using materials at different melting points.

[@blah007001]

We called small parts at the shop I used to work in "concrete soluble." As in if you drop them, they dissolve into the floor.

[@OrdinaryLatvian]

I'm definitely stealing that.

[@onetwothreefour3957]

already stolen by me, sorry

[@namewarvergeben]

I'll go a step further and, if I ever find a piece like that again on the floor, I'll say it re-crystallised or I managed to distill it out of the concrete again

[@spugintrntl]

Gravel is even more solvent as far as that goes.

[@appa609]

The floor is lava

[@user-ny6yk7ho1m]

Lindy uploaded this at 4 in the morning. I like to imagine him rambling about thermodynamics until 3 A.M. then barely editing the video and uploading it

[@jabanan]

But Lindy often records and uploads with a nice gap in between.

[@asailijhijr]

And he lives in the UK, so he's 5 hours ahead of New York time.

[@rouge5140]

@@asailijhijr ok but who mentioned new york time? I'm just an hour past and the video was uploaded at 11 pm. go 6 hours further (britain is there) and you get 5 AM.

[@stanleystriker7065]

He would have liked my Fluid Dynamics class at 5am.....I didn't. My grade showed that... :)

[@WillowTDog]

@@stanleystriker7065 I can't imagine ever even signing up for a 5am course! Was that the only time it was offered either semester?

[@SteveWhipp]

It boggles my mind how the BBC failed to employ this chap. I could listen to him explain almost anything.

[@francis5600]

Indigenous, male and capable of independent thought. Bit overqualified if you ask me.

[@JTA1961]

It's stiff upper lip. Not stiff upper collar

[@KageMinowara]

Lloyd's entirely too entertaining and genuine for the BBC. Lloyd's entirely too entertaining and genuine for Television in general come to think of it.

[@adventussaxonum448]

Wrong gender, wrong colour, wrong sexuality, probably a Brexiteer (just guessed the last one) . 😄

[@pyotrilyichtchaikovskyii6638]

BBC only makes propaganda.

[@AnonymoStranger]

As an incredibly ADHD person, I wish I had more teachers like you in high school. Thank you for your breath, & thank you for your enthusiasm. 🙏

[@argusflugmotor7895]

Lindybeige is that kind of person you can listen to for hours without getting bored

[@abrahamlincoln9758]

Dan Carlin is the type to give a short talk for 4 hours. If only Loyd dared...

[@mayasej]

yeah, we know and we do, listen to him for hours.

[@Cyotis]

So true!

[@drewinsur7321]

@Aliaholic123 Pearson abe the liberator is talking about a chill dude who tells history stories for 2-6 hours straight outta KZbin.

[@abrahamlincoln9758]

@Aliaholic123 Pearson Name it. He's big on Caesar, big on the Japanese Empire. Talks about everything that touches each subject. Everything. The thoughts going through a General's head, down to the privaten and even the merchant back home wondering how the economy's going to be next year. The guy has mastered the art of narrative, not in the slanted way that outlines good guys and bad guys, but as though you had a lens through the fourth dimension and could see into the heart of every human who touched or was touched by history. He's mad for Caesar, but makes no bones about how ruthless, genocidal, heartless and cruel he was, nor how generous he could be, when it suited him.

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

At long last somebody has designed a machine to generate light using only a fire.

[@danielstewart3507]

Best comment.

[@oompalumpus699]

Flat-Earthers: Hiss!!! Foul sorcery!!!!

[@DavidPHH]

Thinking quickly, Dave constructs a homemade megaphone, using only some string, a squirrel, and a megaphone

[@hudsondunn8385]

@@oompalumpus699 What do flat earthers have anything to do with this?

[@km5405]

engineers: noooooo you cant make power without boiling water noooooo ......... i wanna boil water !!!!!

[@billweasley1382]

The light from the LED might not be as bright as the light from the flame, but the light from the LED is extra light that you are getting free. You still get the flame light.

[@TDownit_Strider]

That is a very good point.

[@dgoodman1484]

Well you kinda have to factor in the cost of the unit plus the energy to manufacture, package and ship it.

[@onastick2411]

The general concept is in a real unit, the heat is waste heat, that's being wasted into atmosphere, so it could be harnessed to run a generator for instance, minus the cost of the equipment and maintenance, etc.

[@metagreen1931]

Hey Lloyd, "phase" in an engineering context means state in a chemistry context. It's used because "state" in an engineering context generally means whatever conditions (pressure, temperature, etc.) The stuff is under

[@Lefaseer]

Not in all engineering, to be pedantic. In electrical engineering phase refers to the phase of a wave most of the time.

[@jacob4012]

@@Lefaseer yeah.

[@simondudley581]

@@jacob4012 hell yeah

[@davesimms8825]

I was a chemistry major in Canada, and we always called it a phase change.

[@tripletiote]

That Batman-Stirling transition with the Lloyd chorus was stupendous. I was delighted to experience it a second time.

[@Lobstrex]

It caught me so off guard, I actually had to pause the video I was laughing so hard

[@Christopher-N]

It's a popular way to segue while parodying the 1960s _Batman_ series. VTuber *Ironmouse* has used it several times (may contain strong language or subject matter intended for mature audiences-viewer discretion is advised).

[@WillowTDog]

Stupendous is an underused word.

[@AvrahamYairStern]

@@WillowTDog when I was a child, I used to think it meant incredibly stupid.

[@PsychoticEwok]

Was reading this comment than it happened I think I pooped a little 😆 caught me so off guard

[@P4GYY]

btw lindybeige is the only persons ADs who i actually watch on yt, all others i manually skip the video. Best ad person ever

[@brendonwood7595]

indeed, he can make anything interesting.

[@assasinpatates8066]

I think the ad part was the best part of the video.

[@spugintrntl]

Internet Historian is pretty good at making entertaining ad reads.

[@AndrewHalliwell]

I take it you've never encountered the adstronaut or Jay Foreman? The map men adverts are very entertaining.

[@P4GYY]

@@AndrewHalliwell ooh nah i can't stand Jay Foreman, he's far too left wing for me, always put a far left spin on the things he covers... or usually atleast* to be fair i watched one of his vids a few weeks ago and there was 0 leftist bullshit in it for once... i was proud but yh i cant stand him. l0l

[@DomCombatVids]

Hi, Lindy. You have kept me company when no one else has. I know you don't know me and that you almost certainly never will. But... thank you. Your importance in my life is entirely immeasurable

[@ze_rubenator]

If you covered all of Finland's saunas in Sterling engines you'd generate enough electricity to power the whole world.

[@mikeoxsmal8022]

Whole solar system

[@robertnett9793]

This seems like an even better idea than mine: "Put dynamos on every rotating corpse of every philosopher, intelectual or politican from days gone by." ... You also can use sterling engines to disperse the heat they generate by rotating...

[@saveimageas...9352]

Fck dyson spheres , this is what we need

[@dylanbalie8719]

You sir are a genius

[@BogeyTheBear]

A Stirling engine (powered by a thermal battery) is used to cool the infrared seeker in the latest iterations of the Sidewinder missile. Such an arrangement replaces the old bottle of gas they used to cool the seeker in earlier versions.

[@teslababbage]

That's astonishing!

[@robertnett9793]

@Edgar Miller Ok... you can get away with a lot of atrocities. But bombing a Finnish sauna? You crazy? Can you imagine the worldwide backlash for such a dastardly action? Let alone the thousands of bearded guys only clad in white towels, razing your country to the ground in retaliation? You will have released the Finnish vodka fueled alternative to an all out nuclear war with the Soviets...

[@sierraecho884]

It´s a crycooler, they are incredibly popular. This is where the Stirling engine really has changed the world.

[@Driver-qt9jh]

The Stirling engine is a energy conservationists wet dream. An engine that uses RESUDUAL HEAT doesn't sound that amazing until you truly think about how many engines create heat.

[@BearMeOut]

If only fractal Stirling engine is a thing.

[@onetwothreefour3957]

well if you think about it, the only real limit to the amount of people we could put onto one planet (assuming we import resources from space) is the heat production of humans. so these stirling engines could help us put even more, literal quadrillions of people onto this still very blue rock

[@TheNugettinage]

@@onetwothreefour3957 While in principle that would limit population, in reality it seems likely that population growth is going to start reducing soon. The majority of the global population lives in urban areas and urban areas are associated with very low birthrates; within a few years as urbanization spreads we'll see a stall, then a drop, and ideally a stabilization of global population.

[@onetwothreefour3957]

@@TheNugettinage that implies people dont like having more children if comfortably possible and that people will die at around age 80-90 for thousands and millions of years to come which judging by the enormous strides medicine is making, is highly improbable i'm fairly confident that if people had the time and means to have 3+ children, most people absolutely would do so and i think we'd have much larger families in our future because of that. though the gap between generations may also increase due to the increase in expected age and other social factors. so while it might take a while, there is no such thing as a "max number of humans period", calculations done that would support that are either plain wrong or make bad assumptions like the world staying at current level in everything which it has never done in millenia and probably wont do in millenia

[@spyczech]

@@onetwothreefour3957 the Matrix but packed tight with sterling engines

[@sjorsschoenmakers3629]

I have made many parts for stirling.... cryocoolers. Those units are driven by an electric motor (up to about 10 kW per unit) and are basically an reversed stirling engine. One side gets hot, the other gets cold. If you cool the hot side with water coolant, you can achieve extremely low temperatures on the other side. This is used to make gasses liquid, for example LN2 (liquid nitrogen) or LNG (liquid natural gas). The LN2 can be used to cool superconducting magnets in fusion reactors or MRI scanners for example. Many science experiments use these coolers. These units also get used by ships to transport LNG. The gas is stored in liquid form in the tanks, however it is constantly boiling off. You can use a stirling cryocooler to make that gas into a liquid again and put it back in the tank. That way none of it needs to be vented out. There are many more applications. Google stirling cryogenics to find out more about them.

[@sierraecho884]

So you use one Stirling engine to produce electricity and the other in a cooler configuration to cool the colt side of the first engine, breaking carno efficiency unlimited power xD

[@warrenstemphly5756]

This is one of the most “British” vids on KZbin. 1. The sweater and library 2. Dry humor quips. 3. Verbal shots at America 4. Failing microphone (probably made by Lucas Electric)

[@geordiejones5618]

For me its his video about Napoleon's pest

[@meem6227]

The comments are overwhelmingly brittish as well and this makes me love reading them

[@Tadicuslegion78]

Lindy: Because if you had just developed an ingenious piece of technology, perhaps you do want to keep it to yourself. Thomas Edison: And I took that personally.

[@markfergerson2145]

Robert Stirling: Here you go world, put it to work. World: If it's free it must be worthless.

[@Zraknul]

@Edgar Miller depends what you're powering with it.

[@I_Don_t_want_a_handle]

@Edgar Miller From a sufficient height, yes.

[@historypunkwargames4760]

Loyd is so good he can make sterling engines exciting

[@Enward834]

I immediately become fascinated by whatever the hell Loyd is talking about

[@sandeman1776]

It's his in depth consideration of the varying techniques of the Scholar's Cradle.

[@Tester-sh1mn]

And they’re not tanks! Somehow Lloyd can do the unbelievable.

[@lindybeige]

Stirling engines are so good, they can make me exciting.

[@BlackMasterRoshi]

@@lindybeige go to bed Lindy you're tired.

[@epicstyle1000]

New Lindybeige Video+ New Stirling engine video = Great Start to my day

[@jordanshilander7402]

This video had it all! It went from good to great because of the Stirling transitions, sweater commentary, and a healthy dose of the Lindybeige personality. Thank you for providing such entertaining content!

[@esk5646]

By my calculations, if he is living in England, this video was uploaded at ~3:15 am, are you getting enough sleep Lloyd?

[@farrington4918]

This is probably a scheduled release

[@Razvy800]

@@farrington4918 why would he schedule it for 3 in the morning though?

[@KevlarIlluminati]

Learn your KZbin my friend. It's 90% a sure thing that he uploaded this weeks ago and had it autopublish on a specific date and time, calculated to gain maximum viewership from his target audience. It's a common youtube practice.

[@onepunch9203]

.....and I just finished watching it in America at 3:20AM E.S.T. 😎👍🏼

[@davidworsley7969]

@@KevlarIlluminati What an arrogant reply.

[@lillapabo8809]

As a swede: gets proud when Lindybeige talks about swedish technology. Also as a swede: Gets offended when Lindybeige says "centigrades" instead of "Celsius".

[@CailenCambeul]

"Even though the degree Celsius was adopted by international committees in 1948, weather forecasts issued by the BBC continued to use degrees centigrade until February 1985!" www.thoughtco.com/celsius-vs-centigrade-3976012

[@lindybeige]

Well, there is a problem with Celsius, in that water boils at 0 and freezes at 100 degrees, which people find confusing.

[@mikeoxsmal8022]

Wait aren't centigrade and celcious the same thing

[@lillapabo8809]

@@mikeoxsmal8022 They basically are, at least today. What I meant was that since Celsius was a swedish scientist we want people to honor his name instead of saying centigrades.

[@CailenCambeul]

@@lindybeige Which they sorted in 1948, bringing it to the modern Celsius and related to Centigrade: Freezing at 0 and boiling at 100. In Australia, if Centigrade was used at all, it was not for long. When Australia changed to metric in 66/67, much more changed here than in the UK. I was born in 69, and still, I describe myself as 5 foot 10 and I weigh in at 14 stone. There are some things that just feel wrong described in metric. Let the youngans do the conversions with the help of their mobile phones. BTW Compliments on every vid of yours that I've ever seen since I found your channel a few years ago.

[@blandedgear9704]

Lindy: Some while ago I made a video about sterling engines and it was... Me: "Sterling" Lindy: surprisingly successful

[@MrBizteck]

Dannmit 🤣

[@kristapsmuravjovs7061]

I found Lindybeige a couple of years ago, binged all the videos like hell, then skipped a couple, and the blessing and the curse that yt algorithm is, it stopped recommending Lloyd's videos. Since I'm subscribed to too many channels, I stopped watching for quite a while. And I have to say, I'm glad I did, because rediscovering this channel has been an absolute blast these last couple of days! What a wonderful, brilliant chap, absolutely delightful to binge Lindybeige once more. Thanks for coming to my TED talk, haha, just had to get it all out there.

[@NoSTs123]

I did a presentation about these engines in primary school, since then they really fascinate me.

[@moonbunnies5216]

How interesting!! The machines we were learning in primary school were boring simple machines. Trolley, hammer, stuffs like that. 😔

[@esk5646]

10:02 about, “The pandemic has somewhat distorted my appreciation for time.” I think we all feel that one

[@alisaurus4224]

Time is now somehow both a thick slurry and a pyroclastic flow

[@Kreeos]

I love your presentation style. It's like having a conversation with an old friend.

[@omariscovoador7486]

It was so satisfying when the engine finally started working and Lloyd sounded so happy and proud of his device

[@578Brooksie]

Me: Going to sleep to wake up early for work **Lindybeige drops video about unused obscure technology*** Me: Well this is worth being tired for

[@Dandelion_Stitches]

The best one for me was: Me: I should go to bed early tonight, I need to get a lot done tomorrow. Lindybeige: Here is an hour long video on ladders. Me: ... damnit.

[@herbiehusker1889]

Nothing obscure about a Stirling engine. They've been around for ages.

[@mikzin630]

Luckily it was a short one this time

[@fatherofdragons4880]

@@herbiehusker1889 obscure doesn't mean new.

[@asailijhijr]

I got up early to watch it.

[@JackSparrow-hh2lh]

you could always use a heat exchanger to cool down the data center, then use the waste heat from that exchanger to power the stirling engine Also, you could use a stirling engine in a car, converting the exhaust heat into electricity

[@sailaway8244]

The data centre I worked on (uk) used external fan coil units to dissipate the heat from a wet closed loop system, channeling the warm air across the hot plate would seem the best option

[@Rumunsko8]

The English on the instructions was of the usual entertaining type found in Chinese literature of this sort... Never heard a sentence more British than this.

[@LukeBunyip]

And a shout-out to the subsequent renaming of said document as the '..destructions...'.

[@jwv5540]

I really do wish he would make more videos. I love listening to him teach. His presence in the videos and the subjects he teaches and explains are always interesting. Thank you Lloyd

[@twinsen1949]

YEEEEEEEEEEAH A COMPLETELY NEW VIDEO ON STERLING ENGINES! I have to go to bed but 24 MINUTES IS NOT SUCH A DELAY, AWWWWWWWW YEAH!

[@gustavakerman2566]

I’m Swedish, learning about Sweden, from a Brit. I don’t even know what is going on in my own country!

[@Tarik360]

Det är lugnt. Alla behöver inte vara en MÖP (militärt överentusiastisk person) eller ingenjör. Du fick höra det nu och det är lika bra!

[@warwatch]

Because the Christians stole your pagan roots lol valhallaaaa

[@AKUJIVALDO]

@@warwatch nah, they imported cultures thanks to their feminists and now is dying culture...

[@sierraecho884]

Swedistan has changed much since those new "Björns and Olafs" came into your country to culturally enrich you from behind ....

[@MrMegaPussyPlayer]

20:10 Sterling engines aren't exactly insulators. The work by transporting heat from one side of the engine to the other. I had the idea to use sterling engines as emergency pumps for nuclear plants. Those plants dump ungodly amounts of waste heat energy. And one of the dangers is that it might overheat when the power (for whatever reason) fails. So (on an alternative loop, perhaps, definitely after generator) the sterling engines drive two pumps. One responsible for pumping cool water, another for circulating the hot. If the power fails, the sterling engines will get more heat, pump faster, and at least generate some emergency cooling for the plant, extending the time till it blows up.

[@SilweroLW]

If I will get mad and start hearing voices someday, really hope one of them will be his.

[@adamlee2550]

I thought I was the only person in Britain who stays up this late.

[@Peter-by3ox]

nope

[@commentingpausedtoprotectus]

Same! I've just made myself some toast (with Warby's thick sliced bread)

[@wierdalien1]

I am working a night

[@kelllogg4838]

Nope

[@TheTrooper115]

I just woke up more or less as this was posted if that counts.

[@ColinHuth]

We all have that first new upload of Lloyd’s that comes after discovering him, being instantly impressed, and then binging 50+ hours of his talks in under a week. This one is mine. ‘Tis a special day, indeed.

[@Adumb_]

What a coincidence, I was recently rewatching old Lindybeige videos and got to the sterling engine one and was just thinking how good of a video it was and now this one comes along.

[@AvrahamYairStern]

I remember being obsessed when I first saw your original video, I am glad you made this follow up. P.S. Though your new studio is impressive, it does not quite beat the old backdrop with all the photos and a pair of presumably broken glasses on the wall, whatever happened to that studio?

[@specialagentdustyponcho1065]

Regarding the problem of using waste heat from datacenters for stirling engines: You're still losing heat through the stirling engine. If you route all the waste heat through an array of stirling engines, you would still be losing heat to the environment. You'd need a much larger cooling array than a simple radiator, but it's not as if space is a limiting factor everywhere.

[@lynndonharnell422]

Efficiency is still limited according to Carnot law.

[@michaelpettersson4919]

But at least you get some work out of the heat loss.

[@hermitoldguy6312]

I'll bet it's better than a heat pump buried in the ground.

[@TheNugettinage]

@@lynndonharnell422 While efficiency is limited, it would allow some degree of energy recycling. It's definitely something that seems like could contribute to reducing the power costs of datacenters, and if that seems like it is to us I would wager that there is someone out there making calculations and looking to test it.

[@phil7622]

Lindy, it's 10:44, I know the sun never sets in Britain, but like it's late

[@michaelpettersson4919]

Maybe he couldn't sleep so he uploaded a video instead and by doing that spread the sleeping problem to others. 😄

[@toddmetzger]

@@michaelpettersson4919 Thus proving, insomnia is contagious.

[@schleybailey]

This is some of he best coverage of these neat little things I have ever seen, hats off to you.

[@SENSIBLEATTRACTION]

Thank you for linking the original first video so I could learn about the Sterling engine very interesting stuff thank you for taking the time

[@AlexandervanGessel]

Lindy, the trouble with the data center thing is that you're trying to run a heat engine, which produces energy by conducting heat across a gradient in a controlled manner, in a place where you're trying to actively cool something, and may even (especially in hotter climates) be using a heat pump (air conditioning), which is the exact opposite of a heat engine: it uses energy to move heat either more quickly or against a gradient. Thermodynamics say that's never going to work. You're better off improving the design of the building so it requires less energy for cooling. If you can get that down to zero (passive cooling), adding insulation in the form of heat engines could be considered, but you again run into thermodynamics: When the temperature differences are small enough that a heat pump is an efficient way to move heat, the efficiency of a heat engine is terrible. A heat engine taking in heat at 80 C, dumping it at -20 C in the environment (which would mean the data center runs hotter than that, and the outside of the building is colder) would still only have a maximum theoretical efficiency of about 28%, which even a sterling engine won't achieve.

[@Milamberinx]

How do you calculate the efficiency of an engine knowing only the input and output temperatures?

[@AlexandervanGessel]

@@Milamberinx There's a theoretical limit (that no engines reach) of 1 - Tc/Th, where Tc and Th are the temperatures of the cold and hot reservoirs in an absolute scale like Kelvin or Rankine. From that formula you can see that for 50% efficiency to be even theoretically achievable, your heat source needs to be at least twice as far from absolute zero as your cold source.

[@Milamberinx]

@@AlexandervanGessel that's very interesting, thanks for the explanation.

[@joshuawalker301]

-"Reality always get in the way of a good idea". Sir Lloyd of beige, 2021.

[@matthewclements6603]

Made one of these when I was doing my time as a marine engineer cadet. I’ll have to dig it out later and see if I can power a Scandinavian data centre with it.

[@Nagassh]

The comparison of the parts between the Mk.2 and your engine was really well done.

[@kelllogg4838]

I love how he goes on random rants witch makes him great

[@ScienceDiscoverer]

@Edgar Miller *ANYWAYS!!!!!!*

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

his tangents are so bent, they look more like sine waves.

[@paulherman5822]

Steampunk aficionados ears perk at the idea of "obsolete" technology being currently cutting edge. 😁

[@aaronleverton4221]

A few years ago, or so, I saw a story on the web about this incredible new green technology they were touting as a possible way to make international shipping far more energy efficient. They were, I kid you not, going to harness the wind. To power cargo ships. Can you believe it?

[@azh698]

@@aaronleverton4221 Oh, yes, I remember that. They were going to use some sort of wind turbine to power electric motors.

[@crackedemerald4930]

It's funny, steam technology is still very widespread for energy generation, nearly all if not all thermal power plants (nuclear, geothermal, coal, gas) use steam as a working fluid, with incredible efficiencies.

[@aaronleverton4221]

@@crackedemerald4930 Heck, when gober gas is used to create electricity it is burned to heat water. Well, it is also used to fuel ICEs that turn generators, but that's smaller-scale.

[@bensmith1689]

Who on earth downvotes a Lindybeige video? The man is a national treasure.

[@sssenseiii]

The french?

[@bensmith1689]

@@sssenseiii Or possibly the dastardly hun

[@alisaurus4224]

*International

[@johanrunfeldt7174]

Lloyd obviously has a stalker, who downvotes anything he uploads. Such a celebrity as him, simply must have a stalker.

[@rd6228]

International treasure

[@Participant852]

Hey man I love your videos, I just discovered you a couple hours ago and your content is top notch, keep it up!

[@tiavor]

the problem with the Sterling Engine is that it can't be optimized any further, it's stuck at 60% efficiency. while turbines and diesel engines could be optimized way beyond that point.

[@inlovewithgoats1092]

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm not the most techy person. But why can't they be made more efficient? Even if the technology itself can't be made more efficient, can't you at least get some gains from using smoother bearings and the like?

[@minarchist1776]

@@inlovewithgoats1092 It's been a long time since I studied this stuff, but if I recall correctly the efficiency of a heat engine is largely controlled by the temperature of the heat source (measured in Kelvin) and the temperature of the heat sink (also measured in Kelvin). So, as these engines are operating on our planet's surface there is only so much you can do to lower the temperature of the heat sink. That would be the primary factor limiting the efficiency of the engines.

[@raykent3211]

We need to be careful about the word efficiency. From a purely theoretical thermodynamic viewpoint a Stirling engine can beat any combustion engine, it's not limited to 60%.....where did you get that figure? In practice it's lower, but so too are turbines and diesel engines. We must compare like with like. When we run out of fossil fuels it will dawn on us that we should talk about overall system efficiency rather than engine efficiency. Then the efficiency equation for converting sunlight into plants to produce bio-fuel to use in a diesel engine will give a system efficiency of... I dunno... 5%? Stirling and photovoltaic can easily beat that using current technology.

[@raykent3211]

@@minarchist1776 that's about right, but by focusing sunlight you can get very high temperatures. Lowering the cold side temperature below ambient (wherever you happen to be) costs you more than you gain. Best be in a cold place!

[@charlesjmouse]

Interesting and well presented as always, thank you. Hmm, recent developments in liquid metal batteries are looking very interesting, I'm considering the possibility of combining that with a medal salt reactor... I can imagine the addition of a Sterling engine would be useful for doing work from otherwise 'lost' heat.

[@kombatace7971]

By golly! This is some mighty fine works ya got there, I could listen to these for hours

[@SoftServedGaming]

Lloyd, I have to admit. My day gets better when you upload a new video. I love your stories too! My favorite so far is the White Headhunter Jack Renton, when I have a bad day or trouble sleeping I'll listen to that story. Just thought I'd drop by and say hello, cheers from America!

[@kevinlambo3211]

Making mundane topics extremely exciting to listen to is the peak definition of Charisma, in which Lindy has mastered it. Or maybe because he's British?

[@danblack7609]

Now lindybeige can make it into the obscure parts of history textbooks as the debated and unknown first person to help reintroduce stirling engines

[@byronnielsen8896]

Hello Lindeybeige! Mechanical engineer here - Your idea on data center Stirling engines is perfectly reasonable. All you need to make it work is either a heat pump system or use heat exchangers combined with liquid cooling to transfer the heat to a separate facility not connected to the building.

[@0ddSavant]

Not all data centers are in cold places, says man in Arizona working at a large zero emission data center. Love your work! Keep it up

[@DSAK55]

Stirling is the engines of the future, and always will be.

[@diegodoumecq5144]

Just imagine that there's some alternate universe where phones are basically small boxes holding molten aluminum

[@gearandalthefirst7027]

Didn't they ban certain phones on airplanes because of their potential for becoming a small box of molten aluminum?

[@peterjf7723]

@@gearandalthefirst7027 Molten lithium.

[@AileTheAlien]

@@peterjf7723 On-fire lithium.

[@Christopher-N]

There's no free lunch in the universe. The energy stored in the molten aluminium came from somewhere. Recycling aluminium takes less energy to produce than new aluminium, but you still put in more than you get out. Using this as a conceptual battery-as opposed to the less energy-intensive solar panel to charge a chemical battery for use at night-may not be practical.

[@diegodoumecq5144]

@@Christopher-N party pooper

[@stephenflowerday4038]

You my friend are a national treasure, thank you very much for all your videos. How are you not on national tv yet ?

[@johndominicamabile]

I worked in the power industry in the US. You can have sealed-air environment inside of the data center with most of the walls being very well insulated (made of double layered glass with a vaccum in between the glass for example) so that very little thermal energy can move across. Then you can have specific portions of the walls or ceilings outfitted with conductive material (like metal). You put the sterling engine heat cylinder adjacent to the poorly insulated surface. The hot air will be carried by the air inside the chamber, it will flow to bad insulation, thence to the stirling engines. The heat exchange will take place, then the cooler air will naturally flow back toward the server stacks and repeat the process. There will be no question of humidity or internal air quality because none of the air actually leaves. In a steam power plant no steam, or almost no steam leaves, it's just heated, moved around and then when cool put back into the system somewhere else.

[@shadowfox8748]

Most underrated man in britan...possibly all of Europe

[@johnqpublic2718]

I like this opinion!

[@jordanthomas4379]

“Possibly”?

[@divyanshbhattixa0967]

Do you know about Nikola Tesla

[@TheOldBlackShuckyDog]

*Britain

[@okarowarrior]

@@TheOldBlackShuckyDog *bitcoin

[@weirdowithacello3481]

For the data center idea: What about moving the heat out of the building through solid heat-conductors (like the copper tubes in home computer's that conduct heat from the processor to the fans), then running them through an insulated conduit into a separate structure?

[@donniewatson9120]

I subscribed just because of your energy and willing to hang upside down to save time and for dramatic affect.

[@MeatBird]

i just found this channel yesterday, and im convinced he has all the knowledge of the universe

[@Garundian00]

I swear to science Lloyd, you have the best adverts.

[@yugen]

I am a time traveler sent back from the future. I was sent back to 2021 from the incredible year 2804. This video and Lindy's enthusiasm led to a massive resurgence of the Sterling Engine after data archaeologists uncovered it after extensive research. Unfortunately he passed away in 2025 and he will never know his contribution to the world. It's very unfortunate, he was a brilliant man who seemed to underestimate himself regularly. However, in my time he's known as an underappreciated genius who tried to speak to the world, if only they would have listened.

[@NoSTs123]

*press X to doubt

[@farrington4918]

Very good

[@swiftyasaninja]

You're only giving him 4 years?

[@adamgriffiths4022]

Did he finish In Search of Hannibal - A Graphic Novel before his death?

[@giladlevitz3283]

You fool! Have you forgotten the rules of time travelling? Artical five, paragragh 3, double underline, NO SELF FULFILLING PROPHECIES!

[@DavidDewis]

You convinced me in your original video to buy myself one of those small, Low temperature sterling engines. And I’ve loved it ever since. Drives my partner mad. Every time I make a cup of tea, the Sterling engine goes on top. In fact you ended up in advertently sparking a real interest in energy generation in general. So I thank you for that. The funny thing was; I wasn’t even subscribed at the time. You just appeared as a random recommendation, and I clicked on it.

[@Haneix1]

What on earth, I forget why but I was thinking about your video on these just yesterday, Lloyd has my mind at his will!

[@dj9543]

They call it a phase shift because there is a shift of phase on a phase diagram. A phase diagram is a way to illustrate how the state of matter of a substance varies with temperature (commonly along the x-axis) and pressure( often along the Y-axis). Hope that helps @Lindybeige

[@calvingreene90]

Stirling engines work by moving heat from the hot side to the cold side where it is dissipated. If the Stirling engine worked as insulation you would not have to keep adding energy to keep it running.

[@MrSam1er]

But it is more insulating than no engine. I still think that with a good design and a good heat transfer method something could be done

[@calvingreene90]

@@MrSam1er Then increase the surface area. Actually I would water cool the computers and antifreeze cool the cool side of the engine but the basic principal remains.

[@raykent3211]

Yep, I was going to post about that. It's a great video, but it's very misleading that he says they act as insulators. The fundamental point is that they don't magically derive mechanical power from temperature difference, as is often said, they get it from heat throughput. Related but not the same. The lower the throughput, the less effective the engine is, so it has to be a good heat conductor in order to work at all. I've never seen a figure for this, but I'd guess that a good Stirling engine is at least 70% as good at transferring heat as sheet steel. At these modest temp differences it's probably only converting 15% to mechanical energy, the rest comes in one side and out the other.

[@wakayama1991]

bought one of these for my son, crimbo 2019. Made a racket too. A squirt of wd40 solved that AND got it more quickly over the inertia required to get the pistons and wheel turning. Eventually it loses power as the 'exhaust' cylinder heats up, so the heat differential is lost, so keeping that cylinder cool is a winner. Great little machine, a fun couple of hours, and a lifelong interest in engines and physics kindled in my little boy. cheers for the vid!

[@ostrowulf]

This flashes me back to my power engineer courses, studying thermodynamics and heat pumps etc. I actually had to explain a heat pump to my dad the other day, same principles at play, as with the household fridge.

[@sierraecho884]

I always found the priciple interesting, more so than actually building one which is way harder ...

[@ostrowulf]

Yeah, building one would be brutal. I am not that good at building things.

[@sierraecho884]

@@ostrowulf Well it depends what the end goal is. You can build one rather easily. You can either use the "thermoacoustic" design approach or the "free piston" design approach. Both are incredible easy and they can even produce power, I mean real power which you can use to trickle charge your phone with. Check out "Blade Attila" he has all sorts of simple designs. All you need is a couple of cans, like I use dog food cans, two membranes (air baloon, latex gloves etc.) and some metal sponge as the regenerator and that´s basically it.

[@ostrowulf]

Okay, now I am intrigued. I will have to look into this.

[@sierraecho884]

@@ostrowulf I am glad you are hooked haha ^^ It´s pretty awesome to be honest.

[@theassening4563]

why did the scarecrow win an award? he was outstanding in his field

[@planets9102]

Take your like and get out.

[@aaronbozigian4310]

Thank you for this

[@thatoneotherguy5122]

I swear ever since I started learning Swedish I just keep seeing more and more things about them

[@paulkerman8906]

Lindy, you are always a joy to watch. Thank you sah.

[@GallowglassAxe]

Another great video. Your original video set me out to get me one of the Stirling engines. I only used it in a steampunk theme party but I do like putting it on my hot tea and seeing it spin.

[@crankyhead1089]

Dayum the bookshelf looks great as a background for the videos! :D

[@fdl9656]

Until that German stick grenade goes boom.

[@fatherofdragons4880]

I Literally just thought to myself why hasn't Lloyd dropped a new video yet lol. Once a month is too long to wait for our fix of beige!

[@simondudley581]

Love the stirling engine, the build was sweeet thanks lindybeige

[@zulubeatz1]

The server sounded really good to me. Mankind needs to get onto this kind of technology to survive.

[@TheOneMillionthRoger]

It's damn hard not to get swept up by that enthusiasm.

[@bobbertgrobbert4]

Second or third! I love your vids Lindy! Cheers from Minnesota!

[@che71che]

Love the way you move seamlessly into the Great Courses Plus shill, You know it's coming then suddenly you've slipped it in 👍🏻

[@arjovenzia]

I do have a soft spot for Stirling engines. had to do a report for my Renewable energy diploma. I noted that a "Practical Demonstration" was an option. sounded far more fun than writing an essay. SO, I built a Stirling engine. it was a total PITA, cos I was a starving student, so pretty much no budget, other than what I could scrounge. Got there in the end, and it ended up being able to run on a cup of hot water or an ice block on top. went like the clappers with both ice and hot water. required a *single* drop of olive oil (not ideal, but thats what I had) on the power piston. I only got average marks, cos it didn't actually run on renewable power, but did drive the class wild. couldn't believe it was built from scratch. 5 power pistons, 2 displacers, SOOO many cranks... took me 2 weeks of eavnings to get it working, sure would have been easier to write an essay. but I had way more fun. Good Times.

[@morningstar9233]

Why risk it indeed? A thick woolly jumper i happened to be wearing once saved me from burns to the arms and chest when a camping gas cooker exploded as i was making tea. Thank God it was cold that evening; necessitating my wearing the garment. Hunched as i was over the pot as the cannister exploded, my old wool jumper absorbed the flames, with only my eyebrows being singed as i instinctively flung myself away in sort of reverse somersault. The woolly jumper, a kind of ocean blue, shrugged off the incident and went on to serve me for years till, alas, it was lost during a house move. I think of it to this day. I hope it's out there somewhere warming ( and protecting ) someone else. I was very fond of it both before but especially after the fiery explosion from which it spared my flesh.

[@bBlaF]

Last time I was this early, back scabbards were cool.

[@theblancmange1265]

Shad's is.

[@lindybeige]

It is impossible to be that early.

[@the-catty-cult]

The fact that sir Lindy seems to read all the comments is fantastic. Also @bBlaF I love the laughing man logo from ghost in the shell

[@TheNecromPlay]

Hello good sir, have you heard about the Shabbards?

[@daveevans1236]

Love the presentation on a fascinating item!

[@justsomeperson5110]

Now you've got me thinking... LOL Always a dangerous thing. If I put water tanks on my roof... On the south-facing side I paint it black. On the north-facing, white. That should create a noticeable temperature difference which could be used to power a Stirling engine that could generate electricity. But as to the server room problem, I see two ways to solve that. One is cooling the server room using a heat exchanger that provides the heat to the Stirling engine. A second heat exchanger on the other side of the ventilation system cools return air from the Stirling engine using outside air to return back to the server room. Much less efficient, but powered by the Stirling engine at least provides free cooling and some free electricity. Alternatively, far more efficient, is the same idea except not with room air, but with water-cooled server racks. Then the ambient temperature of the room air is far less important because you're moving the heat through a massively complex Stirling water cooling rig. LOL Still, either way, the solution is to exchange the heat. Heat from servers is applied directly to the Stirling engine, but returned is cooled off using a heat exchanger exposed to ambient air and possibly fans turned by (or at least powered by) the Stirling engine. Room temperature, humidity, etc. are controlled because the server room is never directly exposed. Heat is "wasted" as the return heat is lost. (Though could be stored, such as in, say, a water reservoir to keep the Stirling engine running even when the servers are powered off ... as if that'd happen. But storing heat should improve efficiency at least.) It's less efficient to use exchangers, but they create barriers that prevent the exchange of the air itself, and they allow for the servers to run cool whilst the Stirling engine needs its hot. Of course one could just go with a much simpler cooling solution: make the roof a big heat sink or radiator in a heat exchanger cooling system. LOL Free server cooling at the very least. But the added complexity of driving a Stirling engine in all that provides added free electricity. Though, honestly, the Stirling engine approach to a server room could theoretically be applied anywhere? You just need to move the "cold" system underground a bit. Dig down a bit (but not way too far) and your Earth temps are always going to be lower than your above-ground ambient temps. And servers always generate heat. LOL It's not as efficient in warm climates as using ambient air in cold climates, but free ain't nothin' to sneeze at. Whether it's outside air in the Arctic or sub-basement cold at the Equator, you can always find a temperature difference for a server room. It's just how large of a gradient you need, and if it's worth Stirling engine power, that are the questions. (And yes, I know, I could theoretically improve the efficiency of my rooftop Stirling engine design by digging up my yard to install a cistern for the cold side ... BUT that involves digging up my yard, so... Version 2 then. As putting the Stirling engine on a solid foundation which also happens to be a cement cistern would be killing two birds with one stone. But first, proof of concept to even get an idea if a black water tank on the roof could get decent results. Which, itself, given my lack of finances, will probably take years before I get to doing.)

[@herbiehusker1889]

I see William took a break from cleaning Sir James' spear in order to bring us a new video.

[@GuitarsRockForever]

That was one of his rewards for saving a horse.

[@drakependragon9331]

"Babe wake up, a new Lindybeige video just dropped"

[@ColonelSandersLite]

"Oh, you're still watching" Yup. Just sitting here, enjoying a bit of whisky and watching one of my favorite you tubers ramble about cool nerdy things. That being said, you know what would make me more more interested in the great courses plus? I would certainly be more interested if I could find more lindybeige there.

[@sdbpost]

Didn't realize I was missing a Lindybeige fix until this popped up. Thanks! and um... heat exchangers leave the clean air inside and dump the heat outside with a bypass the a whole bunch of stirlings. I know they must have heat exchangers to avoid constantly conditioning new air.