John Malone and the Invention of Liquid-Based Engines

(permalink.lanl.gov)

26 points | by akshatjiwan 44 days ago

2 comments

  • moffkalast 40 days ago
    It is apparently a form of Stirling engine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malone_engine
    • ajb 40 days ago
      Thanks. So the liquid part is the working fluid. I had been wondering if the pistons were liquid; some engines like that have been built, but not very efficient ones as far as I know.
    • akshatjiwan 39 days ago
      I find it a bit funny. Robert Stirling invented the Stirling engine because steam engines were dangerous (at that time) and could explode.

      Malone(and others apparently) took Stirling engines and filled it with compressed water as a working fluid with some decent efficiency!

      The advantage, based on what I could gather from limited info available, was that these liquid engines could be run at lower temp differential making them great for low grade heat recovery.

  • oritron 39 days ago
    Wanting to read more about this, I came across this useful page: http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/POWER/maloneliquid/malone...
    • akshatjiwan 39 days ago
      The entire website is amazing! It should be archived.