Posted on 29 September 2011 at 11:31h

This morning I was doing about alternative sources of energy with my SL class and was asking them how the thermal energy from a solar panel could be converted into electrical energy. They go the idea that an engine was needed but were wondering if the small temperature increase was enough to power one. I don't have a Stirling engine but have seen that they work off the heat from a hand so suggested that something like that might work. To show that it was possible I searched youtube for an example and found a video of a man in a Stirling engine powered canoe. Great I thought and proceeded to explain how the engine used the temperature difference between the air and the water to power the boat. Very impressive but unfortunately untrue. On reading the text under the video I found out that the engine is powered by propane. Below is a much less impressive demonstration of a Stirling engine that actually is powered by the heat from a hand.