I have been recently posting a link to a NASA and DOE film of a Stirling Engine they designed and tested with MTI through the 1970's-1980's. It was tested in vehicles and showed in real world tests it could replace gasoline and diesel engines with a more efficient (38.5% thermal efficiency was achieved) and lower emissions quiet engine which was multi fuel capable. The working fluid was hydrogen, and durability tests were conducted out to 50,000 hours of operation with little degradation and failure as oil changes are not required due to the clean nature of this particular external combustion design which traces it's origins to an old Siemans design Stirling engine. Very interesting video if you just search *NASA Stirling Engine*
Sira! I missed you. And your hair grew. Sterling engines are fascinating, but sadly one that hasn't really been developed well for industrial (or space) use yet. They still have some problems to overcome for off-planet use. I'm still dubious that they'll be able to radiate enough heat to keep the Sterling engines functioning in a vacuum. But I'm no engineer, so pay no attention to me.
NASA is using a sterling engines as a energy converter in space vehicle😯 In my weirdst dreams i would have never thought about that application... Thats more like a hobby project kind of technologie to my mind.
Nicely done! But please remember this does not translate to Nuclear Power on Earth as Wind, Solar & Storage are now 1/10 the cost of Nuclear and getting cheaper... about $.03/Kwhr VS $.30 for nuclear. Also the Mini & Micro Reactor cost is even worse ~$.50/Kwhr... So when you hear Free Nuclear Power... grab your Wallet !!
I haven't seen a video on this channel in a while. Last time I saw a video, it was still about phone videos. I don't know what happened in between. But it's still awesome in a totally new way!
I know the guy who assembles those for NASA. He says that the numbers given are low-ball and the efficiency is actually much better than listed on paper. Unfortunately he would not divulge how much better. He'd probably tell me then have to shoot me dead. Very cool that they "promise at least this much" energy, when in reality performance is higher than expected. Great vid, like the new haircut, keep them coming! Nuclear powered thermo-couples are kinda cool imo.
Thank you for this new video! The Kilopower reactor sounds like it could be extremely useful in space exploration. We may use solar power to some degree on the Moon or Mars, but it won't be as dependable and useful as it is on Earth. What we really need is a dependable, maintenance-free power source that doesn't need to be constantly refueled. It sounds like Kilopower could be that power source, especially if everything is sealed away so dust can't get to the inner workings. And the idea of using them for nuclear propulsion is awesome! Imagine a probe with a Kilopower reactor and ion engines... It could last for decades.
Stirling engines have been used in space for a long time. Usually for heat or cooling, but there is no reason they cannot be used the other direction for power. This isn't really very new at all and was probably conceptualized in the 1950s. The main problem with Stirling engines is seal friction and wear. To make them efficient you usually need to fill them with high pressure hydrogen. Hydrogen likes to get out of whatever you put it in. To combat that you need good seals, but that leads to high friction and wear. Roll socks and other methods have been used to combat that, but all have limited (short) service lives. Perhaps a bellows based design could be used with a high fatigue life.
@@jakubiskra523 The wear would cause it to leak out quickly depending on the seal type. A roll sock will just rupture when it fails and you are done. Any sort of sliding seal would wear and leak faster and faster over time. What you are proposing would work for gas that diffuses thru the metal or small leaks. It seems like a metal bellows based design could be made with near infinite fatigue life if the stresses are kept low. But high pressure and bellows don't exactly mix. A design challenge certainly. It might be viable to pressurize the crankcase as well and have no moving seals on the pressure boundary (put a generator inside the case, and just wires penetrate the pressure boundary). Then there isn't any pressure across the piston seal except the transient pressures while running (which would be orders of magnitude lower pressures). Not sure what affect the case being at high pressure would do though. It would definitely be a gas spring on the case side of the piston. The lowered pressure means different types of seals can be used, and that they wouldn't wear as fast. Or maybe the case has a pump that constantly tries to put I back on the high side, but seal wear will eventually win that fight. There are various ideas that have been tried to fix the issue over the years. Ultimately we haven't switched to Stirling engines for the seal leakage reason though (and just the retooling cost). It hasn't been solved to my knowledge. Historically they are not as reliable as other engines. So I am particularly curious what they are purposing for these engines for long term missions. We should be exploring them for car hybrids really. They are more efficient than the ICE, and could burn a myriad of fuels, even in the same vehicle. We could probably add 10% efficiency to the process which is 25% better than now.
This may be a premature question! How fast can an appropriately sized engine powered this way push a spacecraft? Yes, I know it won't be, "warp speed" but I have no idea. Any thoughts? Thank you for an excellent video! 🧡
Electrically powered spacecraft aka Ion propulsion systems that consuming a constant amount of electricity still have the inherent ability to trade off between efficiency and thrust. So you can burn propellent slowly at high efficency to get a long period of low thrust, or burn it fast for high thrust over a short period, the total cumulative acceleration (called impulse) will be greatest with high efficiency, but the acceleration at any one moment is highest with low efficiency so your question needs to be more specific. Also the Kilopower system powered vehicle will only be faster then a solar powered one if both are past the orbit of jupiter, inside that utilizing solar power will be better because it will be lower mass for the same energy output and the craft will thus have a better power/weight ratio. In any even all electric/ion engines are only going to give craft acceleration rates of around a milimeter per second squared at best, but this will greatly outperform chemical propulsion when traveling to another planet such as Mars due to the time to build up high speeds.
Awesome video, we will need fission tech of all types, especially those that don't require sacrifices to the turbine fairy. Speaking of which I wonder what a CO2 cycle turbine on Mars would look like, it may be our only way to make stable reliable power on the that planet for quite some time.
It is worth noting that these two phenomena are identical in nature, the loss of mass of a given element. However, they differ in certain properties and the previously mentioned weight loss has a slightly different reason.
Both the current Chinese version, and KRUSTY's precursor project are 1MWe, so 100X as much power. The reactor part is about 50% heavier for 100X more power. Nuclear scales up super well. Total package including all power conversion, controls cabelling, etc. for the US project: 20 tonnes. Compare to SpaceX heavy rocket 100 ton payload capacity.
Great informative video as always. But why did you uploaded this video so late night (Indian time). Are you in USA dear Akka. Just read, no need to reply.
what is the working fluid of the engine? is it the molten salt? or is there some other fluid since a sterling engine is a piston engine and needs a fluid usually a gas to expand and contract.
01:08 What is 4000 gallons? 🤔🥴 Pardon for not knowing these highly sophisticated and esoteric units 🙃😅 and asking for using litres in SI Metric which 99.98% of countries are embracing. 🌍🤗 For the majority of the people wondering, 4000 gallons = approx. 15141 litres 😀👍
How many gallons = 1 gallon? (Not all gallons fit snugly in the same size containers. Litres are no good, they have far too meager reserves for spillage. ;-P
Another well researched, beautifully presented video. Keep up the grind!
0:55 "...a pathway to powers that some consider unnatural." XD
"spinny thing"... Had to go back and make sure I heard that correctly. Crankshaft, flywheel or mechanism would've been less entertaining though :)
I was expecting piston, myself.
That's why we love this channel 😁
Same also rewound when I heard that l
@@BushidoBrownSama Me too!
One of the most interesting channel only downside is inconsistency.
I have been recently posting a link to a NASA and DOE film of a Stirling Engine they designed and tested with MTI through the 1970's-1980's. It was tested in vehicles and showed in real world tests it could replace gasoline and diesel engines with a more efficient (38.5% thermal efficiency was achieved) and lower emissions quiet engine which was multi fuel capable. The working fluid was hydrogen, and durability tests were conducted out to 50,000 hours of operation with little degradation and failure as oil changes are not required due to the clean nature of this particular external combustion design which traces it's origins to an old Siemans design Stirling engine. Very interesting video if you just search *NASA Stirling Engine*
I think I watched that, brilliant,,
Sira! I missed you. And your hair grew.
Sterling engines are fascinating, but sadly one that hasn't really been developed well for industrial (or space) use yet. They still have some problems to overcome for off-planet use. I'm still dubious that they'll be able to radiate enough heat to keep the Sterling engines functioning in a vacuum. But I'm no engineer, so pay no attention to me.
the new hair is way better
@@manofsan I dig her short hair. It takes all kinds, I guess.
another well explained video, thanks again 👍
Please include paid promotions in the video description.
Also if you'll be able to give the time video bar to skip it, it will be really helpful.
Very pleased to see this upload. Well done Sira.
It's miracle to see back to back two videos 😅
Sterling engines are cool!
with the spinny thing... I love it. 🙂
It's been a while but back with an interesting one
Sooo.... Where can I get one for my off grid home? 🤔
Nice star wars reference
i have one sitting at my garage
Long hair back 🔥❤️
I liked her short hair 🙋
Can't wait for a ticket to Mars for me together with a job on IT support and maintenance and planning/deployment
Great information and well presented. Easy to follow, thanks for posting.
small modular power supplies with high density and longevity makes so much sense. You can scale up and down simply by adding or removing modules.
Great video. 👍👍👍
08:06 Aaand "Your Planets further out". I see what you did there 😂
NASA is using a sterling engines as a energy converter in space vehicle😯 In my weirdst dreams i would have never thought about that application...
Thats more like a hobby project kind of technologie to my mind.
Ma'am, why there's no video for a long time?
A fantastic video, thanks.
2:21 did you say, "spinny thing"? What's a Luddite?
Love your new hair.
Sira is back!🌄
Nicely done! But please remember this does not translate to Nuclear Power on Earth as Wind, Solar & Storage are now 1/10 the cost of Nuclear and getting cheaper... about $.03/Kwhr VS $.30 for nuclear.
Also the Mini & Micro Reactor cost is even worse ~$.50/Kwhr...
So when you hear Free Nuclear Power... grab your Wallet !!
Excellent video and information presentation.
You also give off strong Avasarala vibes from the expanse. Direct, informative, succinct.
If she smokes a few packs a day for a few decades, she might even match the voice.
@@Eyes0penNoFear thats the only way she would matcg that actress
Thanks for the update. I was back in the 20th century. Cheers.
Too small. You will need megawatts to power banks of plasma drives, magnetic shielding, and everything else.
Goodness gracious! I just happened to check this wonderful channel and found a new upload. Lots of memories xd
The music is too uplifting. We need heavy metal playing in the backround when talking about nucelar power 🤘
Practicing your supervillain mad scientist energy?
I thought for sure she would mention the turbine fairy when talking about nuclear power production.
As much as I love talkless videos, hearing your adorable accent is a delight to my ears...some people use Ocean sounds to sleep, I use Sira sounds.
Long time no see.
Came across your channel after a very long time,
That new hairstyle looks dope though.
erm small error there ... hydrogen bombs imply that fusion is our most recent energy source.
One of the best TH-cam channels. Kudos to you for such great content!
Thanks. I got you there: technology that will get its days in the sun... rather in places without sun ;-)
alright, when can I buy 5 of these for my dairy/farm 😀
P.S. great video.
Sira looking great in this new hair style.. Big hairs...
Why would you call it unnatural... seems a funny thing to say in a science video.
I haven't seen a video on this channel in a while. Last time I saw a video, it was still about phone videos. I don't know what happened in between. But it's still awesome in a totally new way!
U-235 atom: My powers have doubled since the last time we met
What is the best way of energy storage?
Weird cut at 1:28
Let's learn from humanity's past mistakes and create a nuclear waste plan before we start to contaminate other places like Mars!
Some consider... Unnatural
I know the guy who assembles those for NASA. He says that the numbers given are low-ball and the efficiency is actually much better than listed on paper. Unfortunately he would not divulge how much better. He'd probably tell me then have to shoot me dead. Very cool that they "promise at least this much" energy, when in reality performance is higher than expected. Great vid, like the new haircut, keep them coming!
Nuclear powered thermo-couples are kinda cool imo.
could you get him to make a reactor for my bathroom?... need warm water mornings to shower
I don't like the Stirling idea, moving parts are bad because they wear out. I'd rather buy into the lower efficiency of a thermoelectric converter.
Rather than just radiate the excess heat they should use peltier to generate power from it
0:56 the dark side of the force is strong with this Senate…
Make it more compact and all hell will break loose
Love the spinny thing reference…..
What about antimatter Energy?
She is very good in explaining things 💯😘
Betavoltaics seem way elegant
Can t they use heat battery and engine s( i think it was sterling) or even a direct laser output.
Sira is a Sith Lord (Lady?) confirmed!
Great to have you back.nice hair.
Is this new? I have never heard of elemental energy
Ahh energy for ludites
Sira the new hairstyle suits you
0:55. Love you sense of humour 😂
Thank you for this new video!
The Kilopower reactor sounds like it could be extremely useful in space exploration. We may use solar power to some degree on the Moon or Mars, but it won't be as dependable and useful as it is on Earth. What we really need is a dependable, maintenance-free power source that doesn't need to be constantly refueled. It sounds like Kilopower could be that power source, especially if everything is sealed away so dust can't get to the inner workings.
And the idea of using them for nuclear propulsion is awesome! Imagine a probe with a Kilopower reactor and ion engines... It could last for decades.
A miss this channel
Stirling engines have been used in space for a long time. Usually for heat or cooling, but there is no reason they cannot be used the other direction for power. This isn't really very new at all and was probably conceptualized in the 1950s.
The main problem with Stirling engines is seal friction and wear. To make them efficient you usually need to fill them with high pressure hydrogen. Hydrogen likes to get out of whatever you put it in. To combat that you need good seals, but that leads to high friction and wear. Roll socks and other methods have been used to combat that, but all have limited (short) service lives. Perhaps a bellows based design could be used with a high fatigue life.
Why not just supply hydrogen from time to time?
@@jakubiskra523 The wear would cause it to leak out quickly depending on the seal type. A roll sock will just rupture when it fails and you are done. Any sort of sliding seal would wear and leak faster and faster over time. What you are proposing would work for gas that diffuses thru the metal or small leaks. It seems like a metal bellows based design could be made with near infinite fatigue life if the stresses are kept low. But high pressure and bellows don't exactly mix. A design challenge certainly.
It might be viable to pressurize the crankcase as well and have no moving seals on the pressure boundary (put a generator inside the case, and just wires penetrate the pressure boundary). Then there isn't any pressure across the piston seal except the transient pressures while running (which would be orders of magnitude lower pressures). Not sure what affect the case being at high pressure would do though. It would definitely be a gas spring on the case side of the piston. The lowered pressure means different types of seals can be used, and that they wouldn't wear as fast.
Or maybe the case has a pump that constantly tries to put I back on the high side, but seal wear will eventually win that fight.
There are various ideas that have been tried to fix the issue over the years. Ultimately we haven't switched to Stirling engines for the seal leakage reason though (and just the retooling cost). It hasn't been solved to my knowledge.
Historically they are not as reliable as other engines. So I am particularly curious what they are purposing for these engines for long term missions.
We should be exploring them for car hybrids really. They are more efficient than the ICE, and could burn a myriad of fuels, even in the same vehicle. We could probably add 10% efficiency to the process which is 25% better than now.
This may be a premature question! How fast can an appropriately sized engine powered this way push a spacecraft? Yes, I know it won't be, "warp speed" but I have no idea. Any thoughts? Thank you for an excellent video! 🧡
The specific impulse would probably be in the same ballpark as other nuclear thermal engines, so about 10 km/s.
@@ianmathwiz7 Thank you!
Electrically powered spacecraft aka Ion propulsion systems that consuming a constant amount of electricity still have the inherent ability to trade off between efficiency and thrust. So you can burn propellent slowly at high efficency to get a long period of low thrust, or burn it fast for high thrust over a short period, the total cumulative acceleration (called impulse) will be greatest with high efficiency, but the acceleration at any one moment is highest with low efficiency so your question needs to be more specific.
Also the Kilopower system powered vehicle will only be faster then a solar powered one if both are past the orbit of jupiter, inside that utilizing solar power will be better because it will be lower mass for the same energy output and the craft will thus have a better power/weight ratio. In any even all electric/ion engines are only going to give craft acceleration rates of around a milimeter per second squared at best, but this will greatly outperform chemical propulsion when traveling to another planet such as Mars due to the time to build up high speeds.
Big brain here. Smile a big plus. Who are you ? And yes, I did enjoy the video, and yes, I am now subscribed.
Flash steam boat
Is it possible???
Jupiter Saturn.....???
turbine fairy
Everybody research Thorium Energy. You will not be disappointed.
the goat is back
😮😊
Thank you ❤️
As long as it passes the nuclear (space) treaties it sound great.
“We’re in May…”
I love you !
Awesome video, we will need fission tech of all types, especially those that don't require sacrifices to the turbine fairy. Speaking of which I wonder what a CO2 cycle turbine on Mars would look like, it may be our only way to make stable reliable power on the that planet for quite some time.
After so many months I’m seeing ur dr
Hi
Hi Sweetie Pie 🤗😘💋
@@ladyselenafelicitywhite1596 😊
Kuch to kam hai
Video on dual fluid when??
Weren't the Voyager probes powered by small nuclear reactors?
Edit. Oh, you mentioned them.
Yep, by radioactive decay though, not fission.
It is worth noting that these two phenomena are identical in nature, the loss of mass of a given element. However, they differ in certain properties and the previously mentioned weight loss has a slightly different reason.
What are the scaling considerations for those designs? How small or large can they be?
Both the current Chinese version, and KRUSTY's precursor project are 1MWe, so 100X as much power. The reactor part is about 50% heavier for 100X more power. Nuclear scales up super well. Total package including all power conversion, controls cabelling, etc. for the US project: 20 tonnes. Compare to SpaceX heavy rocket 100 ton payload capacity.
Great informative video as always. But why did you uploaded this video so late night (Indian time). Are you in USA dear Akka. Just read, no need to reply.
Graet video, you are so good at presenting new technologies and ideas.. Thank you very much. 🙂
Informative content! Also, it's funny to see Sira pointing to stuff in the thumbnail like every other TH-cam channel out there.
nuclear, the dark side of the forces
fuel for long distance transfer.
what is the working fluid of the engine? is it the molten salt? or is there some other fluid since a sterling engine is a piston engine and needs a fluid usually a gas to expand and contract.
Editing was a bit dull this time. Information was interesting.
Good to see you after this long time...
Let's hope world approves nuclear energy in the near future
Love from Sindh Pakistan...
01:08 What is 4000 gallons? 🤔🥴 Pardon for not knowing these highly sophisticated and esoteric units 🙃😅 and asking for using litres in SI Metric which 99.98% of countries are embracing. 🌍🤗
For the majority of the people wondering, 4000 gallons = approx. 15141 litres 😀👍
How many gallons = 1 gallon? (Not all gallons fit snugly in the same size containers. Litres are no good, they have far too meager reserves for spillage. ;-P
I like your hair.