What is Stirling: Definition and 80 Discussions

Stirling (; Scots: Stirlin; Scottish Gaelic: Sruighlea [ˈs̪t̪ɾuʝlə]) is a city in central Scotland, 26 miles (42 km) north-east of Glasgow and 37 miles (60 km) north-west of the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its merchants and tradesmen, the Old Bridge and the port. Located on the River Forth, Stirling is the administrative centre for the Stirling council area, and is traditionally the county town of Stirlingshire. Proverbially it is the strategically important "Gateway to the Highlands".
It has been said that "Stirling, like a huge brooch clasps Highlands and Lowlands together". Similarly "he who holds Stirling, holds Scotland" is often quoted.
Stirling's key position as the lowest bridging point of the River Forth before it broadens towards the Firth of Forth made it a focal point for travel north or south.When Stirling was temporarily under Anglo-Saxon sway, according to a 9th-century legend, it was attacked by Danish invaders. The sound of a wolf roused a sentry, however, who alerted his garrison, which forced a Viking retreat. This led to the wolf being adopted as a symbol of the town as is shown on the 1511 Stirling Jug. The area is today known as Wolfcraig. Even today the wolf appears with a goshawk on the council's coat of arms along with the recently chosen motto: "Steadfast as the Rock".Once the capital of Scotland, Stirling is visually dominated by Stirling Castle. Stirling also has a medieval parish church, the Church of the Holy Rude, where, on 29 July 1567, the infant James VI was anointed King of Scots by Adam Bothwell, the Bishop of Orkney, with the service concluding after a sermon by John Knox. The poet King was educated by George Buchanan and grew up in Stirling. He was later also crowned King of England and Ireland on 25 July 1603, bringing closer the countries of the United Kingdom. Modern Stirling is a centre for local government, higher education, tourism, retail, and industry. The mid-2012 census estimate for the population of the city is 36,440; the wider Stirling council area has a population of about 93,750.One of the principal royal strongholds of the Kingdom of Scotland, Stirling was created a royal burgh by King David I in 1130. In 2002, as part of Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee, Stirling was granted city status.

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  1. M

    Stirling numbers - hard proofs

    I have problem with prooving those two identities. Any help would be much appriciated! Show that: a) \begin{Bmatrix} m+n+1\\ m \end{Bmatrix} = \sum_{k=0}^{m} k \begin{Bmatrix} n+k\\k \end{Bmatrix} b) \sum_{k=0}^{n} \begin{pmatrix} n\\k \end{pmatrix}...
  2. R

    Conjecture: Prime Divisibility & First Differences of Stirling & Eulerian Triangles

    CONJECTURE: Subtract the Absolute Values of the Stirling Triangle (of the first kind) from those of the Eulerian Triangle. When row number is equal to one less than a prime number, then all entries in that row are divisible by that prime number. Take for instance, row 6 (see below). The...
  3. S

    Passive Solar Stirling Hydraulic Free Piston, is this possible?

    OK very crude first sketch let me try to explain and you tell me if it sounds remotely workeable. Likemany other eco nuts after the holy grail of energy, I'm trying to brainstorm a low cost solar CHP system. I'm of the opinion that passive solar is always going to win on a BTU/$ collected and...
  4. V

    Stirling engine to electric motor

    Does anyone know what stirling engine could be used to power a generator which in turn powers an electric motor? I am thinking of using this concept in a vehicle. A diagram is here: It shows a metal sphere in vacuum sealed container. It would be connected to by a retractable contact...
  5. C

    Do stirling engines have a pressure gradient across the regenerator?

    There is a temperature difference and we know the transition of the working fluid (from the hot chamber to the cold one) is isometric. So either there must be a pressure difference, or the number of molecules must be smaller; however, this can't be the case since eventually all the gas must move...
  6. T

    Where should I post questions about Stirling Engines?

    Where should I post questions about how to make a DIY Stirling Engine work?
  7. Drakkith

    Building a Stirling Engine at Home

    Hello all. I've been wanting to build a Stirling engine at home out of parts that i could easily afford/scrounge up. Not one of those small ones that you hold in your hand, but one that could generate some real work. Enough to run a small generator maybe. The problem is that i have absolutely no...
  8. R

    Building a Solar-Powered Stirling Engine

    Hi Guys I m trying to make a Stirling engine power by solar heat. Somewhere I found out that the solar flux available on Earth is abt 1350watts/m2 Is this heat energy only or "heat & light " combined?? I m trying to find out if my soar engine will be better than traditional solar...
  9. C

    Using gas engine's residual heat to power a Stirling engine.

    It does not sound bad, does not It??. Using the residual heat it would be possible to power a Stirling engine, producing energy to be stored in the battery. Getting less power from the gas engine, (less time alternator running), less gas used, higher efficiency. How does it sound??
  10. R

    Help with Calculating Work Done by a Model Stirling Engine

    Homework Statement I need some help with this problem: A model Stirling engine uses n = 7.44 × 10–3 mol of gas (assumed to be ideal) as a working substance. It operates between a high temperature reservoir at TH= 95.0°C and a low temperature reservoir at Tc = 24.0°C. The volume of its...
  11. D

    Stirling Engine Design Considerations

    I am doing some experimental work with stirling enging design, in order to add supliment the power I use at my house, and want to get some facts straight, and throw out some ideas for discussion (or destruction, as the case may be) Basic assumptions:(so far) The more heat differential would...
  12. D

    Very neat stirling application

    not sure if anyone has seem this, but I think its a great way to add energy efficiency. http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=newsdesc&news_no=591 (and no i don't work for them) dr
  13. MacLaddy

    Oil Viscosity & LT Stirling

    I have been doing a bit of research on building a low temperature Stirling engine, and I came across this website, http://heetgasmodelbouw.ridders.nu/Webpaginas/pagina_koffiekop_jan/koffiejan_frameset.htm The design on this website looks nice, and I would like to give it a go (after I build a...
  14. V

    What are the design considerations for a 5kW Stirling engine?

    Hey, I'm an electrical engineering student and I'm trying to design a solar dish which converts the heat from sunlight into electricity. I managed to make a small stirling engine with the results i got from google (The stirling engines made from coke cans). I was wondering how costly...
  15. A

    Efficiency of a Stirling Engine

    Homework Statement Derive an expression for the effiency of the cycle (of a Stirling Engine) working between two heat baths at temperatures T1 and T2 with volumes in the ratio V2/V1. Assume the working substance is a monatomic ideal gas. Homework Equations Work done=heat absorbed from...
  16. I

    Stirling Engines: Solving the Equation Puzzle

    I have a pretty broad question. I, with several others, am working on some stirling engines for a science fair of sorts. I have done enough research to understand the concept of how they work. I also understand that there are several different types; single cylinder, double cylinder etc. What I...
  17. J

    Stirling approximation for gamma function

    How to prove that this formula is correct: \lim_{x\to\infty} \frac{\Gamma(x+1)}{\sqrt{2\pi x}\big(\frac{x}{e}\big)^x} = 1 I have seen a proof for this: \lim_{n\to\infty} \frac{n!}{\sqrt{2\pi n}\big(\frac{n}{e}\big)^n} = 1 but it cannot be generalized easily for gamma function. The proof...
  18. e2m2a

    Stirling Engine Thermodynamics

    Need clarification of some thermodynamic concepts dealing with a Stirling engine. I've read descriptions that talk about the temperature of the heat source. Is this temperature referring to the surface temperature of the metal that contains the gas? Or is it referring to the temperature of...
  19. B

    Gamma function to Stirling Approximation

    Homework Statement Show that the integrand of \Gamma(s+1)=\int_{0}^{\infty} t^se^{-t}dt may be written as e^{f(t)} where f(t)=s\ln{t}-t. Show that f(t) is maximum at t=t_0 and find t_0. If the integrand is sharply peaked, expand the integrand about this point (ie Taylor expansion) and...
  20. D

    Unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind

    While toying with the factorial function, I stumbled with the following definition: Let P_k^{\,n} be the sum of all possible products of k different factors, taken from {1,2,3,...n}. For example, P_3^{\,4} = 1.2.3 + 1.2.4 + 1.3.4 + 2.3.4 = 50 Now, according to the Sloane site, this guys turn...
  21. U

    Anyone thought of combining solar water heater with Stirling generator?

    I've heard that solar water heating is very efficient, almost all the radiation of the sun on the panel is turned into heat. Also heard Stirling cycle generators (where heat flow from hot to cold is turned into mechanical motion and hence into electricity) are also quite efficient. Though by...
  22. Z

    Stirling Engine: LDT and high heat input?

    Hello, I am working toward my new Stirling engine prototype for a particular application. Let me start with a small description of what I am going to try anyways: I will experiment this with a small electrical heater: - heat input: 50-100 W (heater thermall insulated on all sides but the...
  23. M

    Simple Stirling: Proving Increasing Continuous Function on [1, inf)

    Homework Statement f(1)+f(2)...+f(n-1) =< \int_{0}^{n} f(x) dx =< f(2) +f(3)+...+f(n) is increasing and continuous on [1, inf) I'm meat to prove the above, the idea I had was to use the trapezium rule to get an approximation of the integral, but since f''(x) can be either negative or positive...
  24. P

    Why Might the Efficiency of a Stirling Engine Differ from a Carnot Engine?

    Halliday says that the efficiency of an ideal Stirling engine is lower than that of a ideal Carnot engine?? But why?? It seems to me that there efficiency are both \epsilon =1-\frac{T_L}{T_H} Though Halldiay also say that this equation do not apply to Stirning engine but only to Carnot...
  25. M

    Stirling numbers of a second kind, from the hint in the book, look correct?

    Hello everyone i was wondering if someone could check to see if this looks correct or not. The question is: If X is a set with n elements and Y is a set with m elements, express the number of onto functions from X and Y using Stirling numbers of the second kind. Justify your answer. note: the...
  26. T

    Thermodynamics: gas for stirling engine + liquid with high density

    Hi, *** for the ones that don't like to read much (:smile:): the basic point is that I need a gas that gives as much pressure as possible with a temperature increase and a constant volume and that is easy to get my hands on; and a liquid with a high density (like mercury or something) that...
  27. L

    Stirling Engine Application

    Hi. I know of the commercially available "battery-less" flashlights that use either squeezing or shaking mechanisms to generate electricity. I was wondering, however, whether I can create one that uses the difference of temperature between the hand and the room temperature. I propose to use a...
  28. V

    Efficiency of the Stirling Cycle: Examining the Debate

    I've calculated the efficiency of the Stirling cycle like \eta=\frac{R(T_H-T_L)\ln\left(V_2/V_1\right)}{RT_H\ln\left(V_2/V_1\right)+C_{mV}(T_H-T_L)} Where V_2>1. It's also derived http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~broholm/l39/node5.html" . But my ("Highschool", or secondary school) teacher says...
  29. E

    Stirling Number of the First Kind

    Hello again, I need to prove the following identity for Stirling numbers of the first kind: s_{n,2} = (n-1)!\Big(1 + \frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{3} + ... + \frac{1}{n-1}\Big) For the uninitiated, s_{n,k} is a Stirling number of the first kind and represents (as I was explained) the number of...
  30. S

    How is the Stirling Engine Advancing Power Generation and Sustainability?

    [SOLVED] Stirling Engine Information Just want to make sure everyone is aware that the Stirling engine is advancing and has many great applications in power/energy generation, cooling, and water purification. http://www.StirlingInfo.com has current news, and an organized directory.
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