Skip to product information
Item #96-7110
Work & Power
New
Hot Water Stirling Engine
$45.00
Bundle Discount
Turn a cup of hot water into a working heat engine
The Hot Water Stirling Engine is a tabletop thermodynamic model that runs on nothing more than the temperature difference between a cup of hot water and the cooler air above it. Place the engine on a mug of hot water, give the flywheel a gentle push, and students watch a real heat engine convert thermal energy into continuous mechanical motion — no fuel, no batteries, no flames.
Why Teachers Love It
- Runs on Classroom-Safe Hot Water – No open flames, no alcohol burner, no pressurized steam. Hot tap water or coffee is all it takes, making this safe and practical for demos at any grade level.
- Visible Piston Motion Teaches the Cycle – The transparent chamber lets students observe the displacer piston as it moves through compression and expansion, connecting the physical mechanism to the thermodynamic P–V diagram.
- Temperature Difference Is the Variable – As the water cools, the engine slows, giving students a live demonstration that engine output depends directly on the temperature gradient, which is a core concept of thermodynamics and the Carnot limit.
Resources
Product Details
What You Can Teach with the Hot Water Stirling Engine
Grades 6–8 (Middle School)
- Energy transformation: thermal energy converted to mechanical energy
- Heat flows from hot to cold — and that flow can do work
- Observing the effect of temperature difference on engine speed
- Introduction to external combustion engines and real-world energy systems
High School Physics / Chemistry
- The four stages of the Stirling thermodynamic cycle (isothermal expansion, isovolumetric cooling, isothermal compression, isovolumetric heating)
- Pressure–volume (P–V) diagrams and what they represent physically
- First and second laws of thermodynamics demonstrated in a working system
- Carnot efficiency and why no heat engine can be 100% efficient
- Relating engine RPM to temperature difference for quantitative analysis
AP Physics / Engineering / STEM Electives
- Calculating thermal efficiency from hot and cold reservoir temperatures
- Experimental investigation: measure rotational frequency vs. ΔT
- Comparing ideal Stirling cycle efficiency to observed engine performance
- Energy conversion chains in real-world power generation
Products being sold are not toys. They are for Educational / Laboratory use only. They are not for use by children 12 and under.
Product Specifications
Specs:
Heat source: Hot water (approximately 50°C or higher — hot tap water, tea, or coffee)
No fuel, batteries, or open flame required
Transparent quartz cylinder: allows direct observation of displacer piston motion
Materials: Aluminum alloy base and components; quartz glass cylinder
Operation: Place engine on hot water surface; give flywheel a gentle push to start
Engine type: Low-temperature differential (LTD) Stirling engine
Base Diameter: 3.75"
Height: 4"
FAQ
No specifications available.
Warning: California Residents
WARNING: Cancer & Reproductive Harm — www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
Recommended Products
