Radiant Heat Engine
Safety Warnings
Warning: Hot Surfaces
Warning: Electrical Safety
Purpose
Lamps heat the top surface of a thin-walled aluminum tube, causing it to arch upward and shift its center of mass above the bearings. This produces gravitational torque that continuously rotates the flywheel — a heat engine driven by differential thermal expansion.
Figure 1:
The radiant heat engine with lamps off. Eight incandescent bulbs heat the top of the thin aluminum tube shaft from above. The perforated flywheel disc is mounted at the center of the shaft.
Figure 2:
The engine running with lamps lit and the flywheel spinning. The top of the aluminum tube is heated by radiation, arching it upward and producing continuous rotation.