| 摘要 |
The invention relates to a device for converting heat into kinetic energy, said device comprising two surfaces (1, 2a) that surround a cavity (3), wherein at least one of the surfaces (2a) is asymmetrically structured in at least one direction tangentially to the surface, and means for bringing both surfaces to different temperatures. According to the invention a working fluid comprising at least one first species of particles is arranged in the cavity, wherein a second species of particles arranged on the structured surface and/or contained in the working fluid is energised to effect a drift movement when a local temperature gradient is applied. At the same time the nature of the structuring of the surface is such that when the temperatures at the two surfaces are different, a local temperature gradient develops in the working fluid along the tangential direction. As a result, the thermophoretic drift movement caused by the temperature gradient then provokes a directed movement of the working fluid and/or of the surfaces relative to one another. The essential difference over the prior art is that the movement is not confined to the movement of a single particle species in the direction from colder to warmer regions, but is a thermophoretic relative movement of two species relative to one another, which is based on an interaction between the species. |
