PASCO SE-8575 VISIBLE STIRLING ENGINE - Manual (Page 7)

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012-06055A The Visible Stirling Engine
®
Operation
Operating On Ice
Running the engine on ice is a quick and interesting way
to start the engine. Pick up the engine and rub an ice cube
vigorously around the bottom (the blue part) of the
engine. Then place the engine on a pile of ice cubes (ice
chips work best) and flip the prop in the direction indi-
cated on the label.
Ice cream or frozen yogurt also work well as ice substi-
tutes. Ice cream provides a good heat sink, (when com-
pared to ice cubes) because it makes such good thermal
contact with the bottom of the engine. Ice cubes tend to
provide only limited points of contact on the top edges of
the cubes.
If you run the engine on ice cream or frozen yogurt, take
extra care to clean it after you are done. Carefully run the
bottom of the engine under some warm water to clean it.
Power From Your Fingertips!
When running the engine on ice in a room that is 72° to
75°F the temperature of the top of the engine will drop to
about 68°F. When this occurs an interesting demonstra-
tion can be performed.
Stirling Engine on an Ice Cream Cone
Place a warm hand (as many fingers as fit) over the LCD
thermometer and the surrounding area. Within 20 seconds
you will observe a significant increase in the operating
speed of the engine. Engines run on heat, and in this case
body heat can be used to increase the output power of the
SE-8575.
Palm over LCD Thermometer
Stirling Engine on a Bowl Filled with Ice