Drinking bird upsized, anchored barge.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of scaling up the classic "drinking bird" device, which operates as a heat engine, and exploring its potential for generating measurable power when mounted on a barge in a stable environment like a lake. Participants consider the feasibility of this idea and its implications for power generation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that scaling up the drinking bird and anchoring it to a barge could produce measurable power, questioning its viability in stable conditions.
  • Another participant cites a Wikipedia analysis indicating that the evaporative heat flux of a small drinking bird is about 0.5 W, with mechanical power output being significantly lower, suggesting that the efficiency of such a system is very low.
  • A participant humorously expresses enthusiasm about the idea, implying a desire for recognition, while another counters that the concept is not practical for generating electrical power.
  • One participant argues that the device is essentially worthless for power generation but acknowledges its entertainment value, while also noting the historical patent status of the original invention.
  • Another participant reflects on the enjoyment derived from the drinking bird, emphasizing its amusement factor rather than its utility in power generation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the practicality and value of the drinking bird for power generation. While some find the idea amusing and entertaining, others argue that it is fundamentally worthless for producing usable energy. There is no consensus on the feasibility of the proposed scaled-up version.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes varying assumptions about the efficiency and practicality of the drinking bird as a power-generating device, with references to historical patents and the limitations of the original design.

Regularguy
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Hi, first time poster here- not college educated, as my handle suggest ... Just a regular guy :) I was reading "The physics book" today (Clifford A. Pickover) and came across the classic "drinking bird" where the body is filled with methylene chloride, the head covered in a felt material - basically a heat engine. Obviously in stable conditions like a room where there is no wind or possibility of disruption the only thing keeping this device from running for a reeeeally long time (please note I didn't say PMM) would be the water supply. Water in a bowl would evaporate relatively fast ... But what if we scaled the bird up and engineered it with safeguards (especially concerning the Methylene chloride) mounted it to a barge floating in the middle of lake Meade (yes, I live in Vegas) and then anchored the barge to the lake bed and we let the bird drink (so to speak)

Could this produce measurable power? How about in a large pond on an Ohio farm? Math, engineering & physics are not my strong suits so I leave this up to you - the true scientists to answer this question... Please be gentle- Thank you.
 
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According to wikipedia:
An analysis showed that the evaporative heat flux driving a small bird was about 1⁄2 W, whereas the mechanical power expressed in bird's motion was about 1⁄20,000 W. The system efficiency is about 0.01%. More practically, about 1⁄1,000,000 W can be extracted from the bird, either with a coil/magnet or a ratchet used to winch paperclips.

1 hp = 746 W, so just do the math to size your bird accordingly!
 
jack action said:
According to wikipedia:


1 hp = 746 W, so just do the math to size your bird accordingly!

Oh man I am totally doing this! Nobel Prize here I come!
 
No nobels for you, A) it's worthless (but thanks for taking time to humor us with your wit) B) if it wasn't worthless it would belong to the original inventor (which it actually does - patented in 1946)
 
I had one of the "drinking birds" and it was NOT useless! It gave me and my friends hours of amusement. But certainly useless for generating electrical power!

By the way, if the inventor received a patent for it in 1946, that patent expired twenty years later, in 1966 (unless he went through the patent renewal process).