Ed Huntress wrote:
wrote in message
...

(...)

Solar steam. It was gonna be nifty!
I figured the turbine output would be a nice RPM
match for a small alternator.

That's exactly what I had in mind. So, you were thinking about a
single-stage impulse turbine?

Yup. I read somewhere that efficiency increased with number
of nozzles and number of buckets, so my runner looked
exactly like:
http://mysite.verizon.net/reswoead/s...es/Spinner.JPG

Too 'over the top'?
I hoped to limit RPM by using a large diameter runner.

I got hung up on bearings, because I was
looking at 40,000 rpm and a permanent-magnet alternator, possibly built into
the disk.

Sounds like a job for Magnetic Levitation!

(...)

Now I'm fantasizing about building a thermoacoustic engine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu0N7...eature=related

All the thrills for about 1% of the effort!

Oh, I love those things -- in concept, anyway.

Fun!

BTW, I was corresponding with
James Senft a couple of years ago, getting help on Stirling lubrication.

Sounds non-trivial because of the danger of improper or
excessive lubrication.

I bought several of these and passed them out to
friends and family several years ago:
http://www.pmresearchinc.com/store/p...1&cat=0&page=1

I simply did not believe it when mine sputtered to life
after assembly. 'Too cool for school.

--Winston