What is a KEAP Engine?

 

• An engine – built very small (microscopic)
• Fueled by heat – from Brownian Motion
• Used to make electricity or perform work
• Can be implemented in a variety of forms by arranging many KEAP Engines into endless designs

 

They said “It Can’t Be Done!”

Q: What about the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics?
“It is impossible to convert any amount of heat of a thermal bath completely into work in a cyclic process.”

A: This device is actually a heat engine powered by external thermal kinetic energy (Brownian Motion).

• External energy eliminates the “thermal bath” limitation
• Brownian motors have been demonstrated in several forms
• Numerous theoretical and experimental results exist
• Even some biological processes are believed to be powered by Brownian Motion (e.g. motor protein winding of ATP molecules)

 

The energy in a kinetic atom!

Temperature is a result of matter’s kinetic energy.

• Energy of an individual gas or liquid molecule is:
  E = 3/2 kBT
  kB = 1.38×10-23 J/K
  at room temperature (T = 296 K), energy is 6.13×10-21 joules
• As a result of this energy, at room temperature the average air molecule is moving at around 1000 mph.

 

Energy in a LOT of atoms

• Molecules per mm3 (cubic millimeter)of air = 2.42×1016 of water = 3.35×1019
• Volume of an AA battery 7696 mm3
• Energy in that volume: if air = 1.14 joules if water = 1578 joules
• A cube of air with sides of four feet contains kinetic energy measuring just over 805,355,861 joules (300 horsepower)

 

“Truth in Advertising”

• Energies stated are the total kinetic energy of the atoms
• The atoms lose energy (get cooler) as the engine works
• For each six centigrade (6 °C) the atoms are cooled, the engine gets 2% of the atoms’ total energy as power
• Colder atoms transfer energy less efficiently
• Most of the total energy will not be available to our engine
• Expectations of 4% – 10% of the total energy is realistic

 

And now the great news

• Even though there is limited power inside our engine, used power will be replaced by the heat of the environment
• The air in our environment is continuously being heated by the power of the sun
• The air, being warmer than our cooled atoms inside of the working engine, will transfer and re-heat those atoms
• The rate of heat transfer is the final limit on the rate of power that can be generated

 

Ambient Heat Transfers Into System