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- YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A revolutionary
engine has been created that can produce power by absorbing heat from atmospheric
air. The engine, patented by Entropy Systems Inc., is designed to run cars,
boats, lawnmowers and generators.
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- Tests on developmental prototypes were conducted last
year at Youngstown State University, Purdue University and Pennsylvania
State University. The units apparently work off outside air even at subzero
temperatures.
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- More than $3.4 million and seven years of research have
been invested by Entropy Systems to develop the engines, called Room Temperature
Superconductors.
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- Inventor Sanjay Amin works on prototype entropy engine.
August 1999. (Photos courtesy Entropy Systems, Inc.)
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- Conventional fossil fuels or nuclear power are not necessary
to run these engines. They do not need cryogenic liquids or any fuel storage
systems, nor do they operate using solar, wind or geothermal power.
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- Inventor Sanjay Amin says there are no emissions of carbon
or other greenhouse gases such as those produced by conventional engines
which run by burning oil or gas.
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- Conventional engines convert high temperature heat to
power, usually by burning fossil fuels. The Entropy Systems engine takes
room temperature air, absorbs heat from the air like a sponge, converts
that heat to power and exhausts air at a lower temperature.
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- This low temperature exhaust can be used for refrigeration
and air conditioning, allowing the unit to function as both an engine and
a refrigerator.
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- The new technology enables a difference in acceleration
to transfer heat. The operation of the cycle creates a temperature difference.
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- The Entropy engine consists of an enclosure filled with
a gas like air, called the "working medium," Amin explains. This
enclosure has blades inside to rotate the gas. On one end of the enclosure
is a piston that can compress the gas inside the enclosure.
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- The following four steps are followed to complete the
absorption of heat and its conversion to power. These steps together are
called the Amin Cycle.
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- 1. The gas inside the enclosure is first rotated to a
higher speed while keeping its volume constant. 2. The gas inside the enclosure
is then compressed by a piston while the speed of rotation is kept constant.
3. The speed of rotation of the gas inside the enclosure is reduced while
keeping its volume constant. 4. The gas inside the enclosure is now expanded
while the lower speed of rotation is kept constant.
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- Room Temperature Superconductor engines work by repeating
this cycle again and again.
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- Entropy Systems engine An electric generator coupled
to this engine generates electricity. The engine can run all year in a
variety of weather conditions. It has a estimated efficiency that is higher
than any conventional engine, refrigerator or fuel cell.
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- Patents on the technology have been approved by the United
States, Australia and the European Union.
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- Three major corporations from Germany, Russia and Japan,
unidentified by Entropy Systems, have shown interest in commercializing
the Entropy engine technology.
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- Ford Motor Company has evaluated the Entropy engine technology.
Their internal report shared with Entropy Systems in December 1999 indicates
that the theory on which the technology is based is correct, but it does
not have commercial applications in the near future. The "parasitic
friction losses are too great for near term commercial applications,"
the Ford report said.
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- Full technical details are available online at: <link
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