--- Mark Goldes wrote: > There was a remarkable engine developed at JPL by E.A Laumann, about 1976, that ran on Hydrogen and Argon.
Turns out the abstract is online: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1978nasa.reptV....L This adds a whole new wrinkle to many concepts ... even to solar conversion. If one were to use solar energy, as suggested, one could concievably get about double the efficieny of the present Sterling Engine, which in going into actual production (based on inferences as I haven't gotten the whole paper yet). This is due to higher electrolysis efficiency in steam (if condensation can be avoided) This could be a case of good prior research, from probably the best lab in the USA for this kind of thing, being missed in today's world of soraing oil costs - since it came out so long before the internet documented this kind of thing? Apparently the engine was built in the early seventies when gasoline was cheap. Thanks to Mark for remembering it. When I get the paper, I will try to put it into electronic form. The fascinating thing to many here is the connection to argon, and the fact that they did not even try to implement some obvious routes for improvement (assuming that the exploding capacitor effect is valid)- plus - isn't the *Feynman* "connection" a bit interesting. I haven't read the whole paper but I would bet that there is no mention of Papp - nor of the "incident" even though this experiment comes from a lab associated with R.F.'s alma mater... and was probably performed within a few miles of the Papp "explosion" ... yet ... are we to believe that there is zero relevance? Jones
