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I recently built (from a kit; see link 1) a model Stirling engine. It's very pretty and whizzes around with much gusto, but doesn't do anything productive. It has a pulley so it could be used to power a dynamo or such, but basically it's a toy.
I also recently found a video tape of my 40th birthday
party (all those years ago) which featured (if that's the right word) a guy playing a hurdy-gurdy. (See links 2 to 4 if the item is unfamiliar.) The limiting factor in hurdy music is that you only have one free hand to play a melody because the other one's winding the handle. (According to David Munroe, the hurdy was originally intended to be played by two people, one winding and the other keying, but this is rarely done now.)
It's entirely possible to use an electric motor to power it but for the sake of combining two fairly pointless technologies I propose the use of a toy Stirling engine to operate the wheel of a hurdy-gurdy.
My Stirling engine
http://www.nautical...rm_model/95176.html
[angel, Mar 28 2008]
Hurdy-Gurdy
http://www.hurdygurdy.com/
[angel, Mar 28 2008]
Again
http://www.hurdygurdy.farmcom.net/
[angel, Mar 28 2008]
And again
http://www.hotpipes.com/hgdemo.html
[angel, Mar 28 2008]
Nonverbal hurdy gurdy educational video
https://www.youtube...watch?v=PuwihoKQih0
Mentioned in my anno. Guy shows you how to play the hurdy gurdy without speaking. [notexactly, Apr 16 2018]
[link]
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//the hurdy was originally intended to be played by two people, one winding and the other keying, but this is rarely done now//
Union rules, probably. |
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How do you operate the "chien" if both hands are on the keyboard? You need a way to adjust the speed of the engine. Perhaps a pedal? |
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You get a bun just for thinking of the most useless thing that a stirling engine could power. |
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Mrrrrooooooow meeeeaaaaaaaaooooooommmmmm brrrooooooaaaaaaooooommmm... |
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Donovan didn't think it was so useless. |
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Pretty motor. It's a good thing I don't have one on my desk; I'd never get anything done. |
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See video: [link]. You don't necessarily want the crank to
turn at a constant rate; it's one of the things you can vary to
control the sound. (I assume there are musical terms for
what I said, but I'm not a musician (yet).) |
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