t-Butyl Hypobromite

The Stirling Engine

“…[16] [17] The need for Stirling engines to run at very high temperatures to maximize power and efficiency exposed limitations in the materials of the day, and the few engines that were built in those early years suffered unacceptably frequent failures (albeit with far less disastrous consequences than a boiler explosion [18] ) -for example, the Dundee foundry engine was replaced by a steam engine after three hot cylinder failures in four years. [19]…”

“…However, from about 1860, smaller engines of the Stirling/hot air type were produced in substantial numbers finding applications wherever a reliable source of low to medium A typical late nineteenth/early twentieth century water pumping engine by the Rider-Ericsson Engine Company power was required, such as raising water or providing air for church organs. [21] These generally operated at lower temperatures so as not to tax available materials, so were relatively inefficient. Their selling point was that, unlike a steam engine, they could be operated safely by anybody capable of managing a fire.…”

“…[22] Several types remained in production beyond the end of the century, but apart from a few minor mechanical improvements the design of the Stirling engine in general stagnated during this period. [23]…”

“…During the early part of the twentieth century the role of the Stirling engine as a "domestic motor" [24] was gradually taken over by electric motors and small internal combustion engines. By the late 1930s, it was largely forgotten, only produced for toys and a few small ventilating fans.…”

“…By the late 1930s, it was largely forgotten, only produced for toys and a few small ventilating fans. [25] Around that time, Philips was seeking to expand sales of its radios into parts of the world where electricity and batteries were not consistently available. Philips' management decided that offering a low-power portable generator would facilitate such sales and asked a group of engineers at the company's research lab in Eindhoven to evaluate alternative ways of achieving this aim.…”