I love thermodynamics. The Sterling engine is an excellent example. My most recent obsession is the Einstein-Szilard refrigerator. It is a heat pump with no moving parts. If you use concentrated ammonia and pentane as the working fluids, I think it can run at a pressure of under 2 atmospheres. I would like to develop it into a low-cost combination appliance to be a refrigerator and hot water heater.
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That's really cool, and a technology I wasn't aware of. Time for a six hour Wikipedia binge.
The wikipedia article is good, then try this pdf:
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.148.6425&rep=rep1&type=pdf
I was also able to find a picture of the prototype system that one of the author's fellow grad students built.
The cycle is similar to the Electrolux cycle that is used for propane-powered RV refrigerators. In fact, the Electrolux corp bought the patent rights from Einstein and shelved the technology without ever developing it.