The Nitinol Engine
Englische Version des Artikels "Der Nitinol-Motor" 463.NTM
Cardboard kit for a fully functional nitinol motor with warm water drive
Fascinating feature
The heart of this very unusual heat engine is a ring of hair-thin nitinol wire (0.3 mm). A little warm water is all it needs, and then the Nitinol motor starts to turn and pound tirelessly.
Nitinol, an alloy of nickel and titanium, has highly unusual properties: When warm, it is stiff and elastic like spring steel, but below a certain temperature it becomes pliable like soft iron. You can repeat this as often as you like, Nitinol always returns to its old shape when heated, suddenly and with astonishing force. The snap temperature of our Nitinol wire ring is 45°.
This is how it works
In the air, the wire is soft; where it is immersed in the 50° warm water, it suddenly becomes stiff and straight. But because the grooved wheel forces it into a curve, it has to move upwards. In doing so, it pulls a new piece of wire behind it into the warm water, whereupon the whole thing starts all over again. The basic principle, invented by Frederic Wang in 1985, is effective even at low temperature differences and has great future potential for alternative energy production.
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