The construction and working of a simple Stirling motor are reported and its thermodynamic behaviour and yield are analysed. This kind of heat engine is remarkably simple and attractive, owing to its unique property of extracting work from heat sources with differential temperatures as low as 20°C. […]
In secondary school dynamics pupils are usually asked to solve problems that concern rigid bodies. Inspired by “cartoon behaviours”, this paper studies what happens when the end of an elastic beam receives a blow and the beam starts moving. […]