On 2/10/2010 9:32 AM, hex wrote:

So there is a ponderance for Morris Dovey: is there any benefit to
micro-coatings for solar capture? And is SiO_2 going to withstand the
heat of your Stirling engine at the collector?

I can see possible benefits, but would need considerably more
information than they're providing to know for sure. There are two areas
where it /might/ shine (please pardon the pun):

If it protects metal from oxidation then it would permit using less
expensive aluminum (bonded to an even less expensive substrate) for
concentrator reflectors.

There may some potential for coating interior surfaces of fluidyne
engine pumps to reduce corrosion and friction caused by surface fouling
from "junk" in the pumped water.

I think both applications will depend on whether these folks are
interested in more than just the "low-hanging fruit".

It'll be interesting to see where they go from where they are.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/