ABSTRACT
The Stirling engine was patented in 1816 by Rev. Robert Stirling, a Scottish minister (Figure 12.1). Early
Stirling engines were coal-burning, low-pressure air engines built to compete with saturated steam
engines for providing auxiliary power for manufacturing and mining. In 1987, John Ericsson built
an enormous marine Stirling engine with four 4.2-m-diameter pistons. Beginning in the 1930s, the
Stirling engine was brought to a high state of technology development by Philips Research Laboratory in
Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with the goal of producing small, quiet electrical generator sets to be
used with high-power-consuming vacuum tube electronic devices. Recently, interest in Stirling engines
has resurfaced, with solar electric power generation (Stine and Diver 1994) and hybrid automotive
applications in the forefront.
