100 MPG
For thrifty motorists, squeezing an extra few miles out of each gallon of fuel can become an obsession.
But some have been striving for a semi-mythical goal of achieving 100 miles per gallon of fuel from their vehicles.
Now an inventor in Texas claims to have built an engine that can reach this efficient milestone – using a design that is more than 200 years old.
Josh MacDowell, combined a Stirling engine – first created by a clergyman in Scotland 200 years ago – with thermopile technology that converts heat energy into electricity.
Mr. MacDowel, from San Antonia, Texas, is currently testing his invention in the Hybrid electric car, allowing it to drive at highway speeds without the need for recharging.
He believes the engine would also be capable of letting an SUV achieve 100 miles to the gallon. He is now hoping to patent his design.
The Stirling engine was invented by Robert Stirling, a Scottish clergyman, in 1816, using the exchange of hot and cold air to power an engine.
Since then, his basic model has been used extensively, from sewing machines to submarine engines.
Stirling’s original 1816 patent contained all the elements of what is now called the ‘Stirling cycle engine’ – a power piston, a displacer to move air between hot and cold ends, and a regenerator.
The power piston compresses air in the cold end of the displacer cylinder, which then shifts the air from the cold to hot end. The piston is driven back by the air expanding in the hot end.
The post 100 MPG appeared first on LewRockwell.
Leave a Reply