Article
Article
Stirling engine
Article By:
Meijer, Roelof J. Philips Research Laboratories, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.656300
An engine in which work is performed by the expansion of a gas at high temperature to which heat is supplied through a wall. Like the internal combustion engine, a Stirling engine provides work by means of a cycle in which a piston compresses gas at a low temperature and allows it to expand at a high temperature. In the former case the heat is provided by the internal combustion of fuel in the cylinder, but in the Stirling engine the heat (obtained from externally burning fuel) is supplied to the gas through the wall of the cylinder (Fig. 1). See also: Internal combustion engine
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
