SewBlue on Nostr: npub1ks70c…teg5u Oh, the steam engine that used alcohol caught my attention. I'm a ...
npub1ks70cf3wt30sn2gqjnw4zjtd7ztwnnaq4fy0azpdvtlthg7eqrpqlteg5u (npub1ks7…eg5u) Oh, the steam engine that used alcohol caught my attention. I'm a mechanical engineer and know a bit about steam engines, though no expert.
I can see how alcohol would make a great medium for th thermodynamic process. Would require less heat to attain the proper pressures, a huge gain for efficiency. Wonder what the technical problems were, as this could have allowed smaller steam engines much earlier.
The distillation process is only lacking in a pressure vessel and piston. You turn a liquid into a higher pressure steam, use that pressure to push a piston, let it condense back to liquid and start over.
Thermodynamics and mechanics.
Click! Early engines did not recycle water like modern ones. It would have required ungodly amounts of alcohol to run.
I can see how alcohol would make a great medium for th thermodynamic process. Would require less heat to attain the proper pressures, a huge gain for efficiency. Wonder what the technical problems were, as this could have allowed smaller steam engines much earlier.
The distillation process is only lacking in a pressure vessel and piston. You turn a liquid into a higher pressure steam, use that pressure to push a piston, let it condense back to liquid and start over.
Thermodynamics and mechanics.
Click! Early engines did not recycle water like modern ones. It would have required ungodly amounts of alcohol to run.