High School / HS-16
Available Grades 9–12 Energy
Run a hot-water Stirling engine, log temperatures, pressure, and RPM, reconstruct its P–V cycle, and compare its efficiency with the Carnot limit.
Students instrument a hot-water (low-temperature-difference) Stirling engine with an ESP32 logger: a ported pressure sensor in the displacer chamber, a once-per-turn hall sensor on the flywheel, and temperature probes in the water and on the top plate. They reconstruct the P–V loop, compute work per cycle and indicated power, check it against a spin-down friction measurement, measure heat input by water calorimetry, and compare the engine's efficiency with the Carnot and Curzon–Ahlborn limits and an isothermal Schmidt model built from their own measurements.
Students will:
Every high school pack includes worked math and physics, prediction-versus-measurement labs, at least two design-and-test iterations, data logging, a rubric, and documentation templates, plus printable Builder's Corner build journal pages.
Parts, specs, quantities, and estimated unit costs, with places to buy. Prices change; anything marked as an estimate is an estimate. Links were checked when the BOM was written.
Totals are computed from the line items below. Prices were read from vendor pages on the dates shown and will change. Rows tagged estimate have no verified link and are planning numbers only.
| ID | Part & spec | Qty | Unit (typical) | Line (typical) | Where to buy | Cheaper substitute | Adult handling / safety gear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Low-temperature-difference (coffee-cup) Stirling engine EngineDIY 'Low Temperature Stirling Engine Coffee Cup' · page: aluminium, 136 g; 'Can not use with flame heating!'; runs on a cup of hot water. Kit uses water ≤ 50 °C. | 1 | $24.99 | $24.99 | enginediy.com EngineDIY $24.99 · checked 2026-10-09 · Available (store data) | Engine Model Kit LTD engine with cup ($34.99, page shows Sold out on 2026-10-09); a second, unmodified engine as a control (+$24.99) | Adult drills the 3 mm pressure port (build guide Part 2) |
| E2 | ESP32 Feather V2 (logger) Adafruit PID 5400 · USB serial CSV logger; Wi-Fi/Bluetooth off | 1 | $19.95 | $19.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $19.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Any Arduino with I²C + an interrupt pin (re-map pins) | Header soldering: adult supervision |
| E3 | MPRLS ported pressure sensor, 0–25 PSI absolute Adafruit PID 3965 · I²C 0x18, metal port for a tube; reads the engine's gas pressure | 1 | $29.95 | $29.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $29.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | — | — |
| E4 | STEMMA QT / Qwiic cable 100 mm Adafruit PID 4210 | 1 | $0.95 | $0.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $0.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | — | — |
| E5 | Waterproof DS18B20 temperature probe Adafruit PID 381 · one in the water, one taped to the top plate | 2 | $9.95 | $19.90 | adafruit.com Adafruit $9.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | 10 kΩ NTC thermistors + calibration (cheaper, more work) | — |
| E6 | Hall-effect sensor US5881LUA Adafruit PID 158 · one pulse per flywheel turn | 1 | $2.00 | $2.00 | adafruit.com Adafruit $2.00 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | IR break-beam pair through the flywheel spokes | — |
| E7 | Small neodymium disc magnets 3 × 1 mm (pair) One S-face-out (triggers), one N-face-out opposite (balances the flywheel, no second pulse) | 1 | $3.00 estimate | $3.00 | Craft/hardware store (no link) — | Adafruit PID 9 rare-earth magnet ($2.50, page shows Out of stock on 2026-10-09; larger: check balance) | Keep magnets away from young children (swallowing hazard) |
| E8 | Silicone tubing 3 mm ID, 1 m Adafruit PID 4661 · use ≤ 5 cm between port and sensor (dead volume ≈ 0.35 cm³) | 1 | $2.50 | $2.50 | adafruit.com Adafruit $2.50 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | — | — |
| E9 | Brass tube 3 mm OD × 15 mm + 2-part epoxy Pressure port glued into the engine's top plate | 1 | $6.00 estimate | $6.00 | Hobby/hardware store (no link) — | — | Adult drills and glues; epoxy with gloves, ventilated |
| E10 | 4.7 kΩ + 10 kΩ resistors, half-size breadboard, jumper wires DS18B20 pull-up (4.7 kΩ); hall pull-up to 3.3 V (10 kΩ); wiring | 1 | $7.00 estimate | $7.00 | School stock (no link) — | — | — |
| E11 | USB-A to USB-C data cable Adafruit PID 4474 | 1 | $4.95 | $4.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $4.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Classroom cable | — |
| Subtotal | $121.19 | Low-cost path: $106.24 | |||||
| ID | Part & spec | Qty | Unit (typical) | Line (typical) | Where to buy | Cheaper substitute | Adult handling / safety gear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1 | Double-wall insulated mug with a flat rim (≈ 300 mL) The engine sits on the rim; same mug for engine and lid runs | 1 | $10.00 estimate | $10.00 | Retail (no link) — | Foam cup in a beaker (less stable) | — |
| H2 | Electric kettle with auto shut-off ADULT ONLY. Heats water that the adult mixes down to ≤ 50 °C before it reaches the student station | 1 | $25.00 estimate | $25.00 | Retail (no link) — | Hot tap water measured with the probe, ≤ 50 °C (often 45–50 °C) | Adult only; kettle stays at the adult station |
| H3 | Spill tray (rimmed, heat-resistant) + towel Mug and engine stand inside it | 1 | $8.00 estimate | $8.00 | Retail (no link) — | Baking sheet | — |
| H4 | Digital kitchen scale, 1 g Water mass (heat input) and flywheel mass (inertia) | 1 | $12.00 estimate | $12.00 | Retail (no link) — | Assumed owned | — |
| H5 | XPS foam offcut 25 mm, ≈ 150 × 150 mm Insulating lid for the lid run (template foam-lid.svg) | 1 | $5.00 estimate | $5.00 | Hardware store (no link) — | Folded towel over a plate (less repeatable) | Adult cuts |
| H6 | Baltic birch plywood 3 mm, 12 × 20 in Wood Vault, 1/8" Laser/CNC grade variant; 1 sheet (base, uprights, sensor arm, probe clips, TDC pointer) | 1 | $3.50 | $3.50 | woodvault.com The Wood Vault $3.50 per sheet (1/8" Laser/CNC grade variant) · checked 2026-10-09 · Not confirmed (variant page) | Any 3 mm laser plywood | Trained adult runs the laser cutter |
| H7 | M4 × 20 bolt + washer + wing nut (arm), Kapton or aluminum tape, thermal paste, zip ties Sensor mounting | 1 | $8.00 estimate | $8.00 | Hardware store (no link) — | — | — |
| H8 | Laser cutter access or cutting service 1 sheet (estimate) | 1 | $5.00 estimate | $5.00 | Makerspace / cut service (no link) — | — | Trained adult operates the laser cutter |
| Subtotal | $76.50 | Low-cost path: $21.50 | |||||
| ID | Part & spec | Qty | Unit (typical) | Line (typical) | Where to buy | Cheaper substitute | Adult handling / safety gear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Temperature-controlled soldering iron Pinecil | 1 | $68.50 | $68.50 | sparkfun.com SparkFun $68.50 · checked 2026-10-09 · Not recorded | Assumed owned in the low total | Adult supervision |
| T2 | Lead-free solder 15 g SparkFun | 1 | $4.95 | $4.95 | sparkfun.com SparkFun $4.95 (single-unit price) · checked 2026-10-09 · Not recorded | — | Wash hands after soldering |
| T3 | Safety glasses, ANSI Z87.1 (Z87+) impact-rated, clear 3M SecureFit SF201AF · clear anti-fog polycarbonate lens marked Z87+ (ANSI Z87.1 impact-rated; 3M spec table on strobelssupply.com and safetycompany.com, read 2026-10-09); drilling, soldering, laser cutting, hot-water work (splash) | 2 | $5.32 | $10.64 | platt.com Platt Electric Supply $5.32 EA · checked 2026-10-09 · 40 in stock (company-wide) | Any glasses marked Z87+ (ANSI Z87.1 high-impact). Not SparkFun SWG-11046: it lists only CE/EN 1836, a sunglass standard, not impact-rated | Check the Z87+ marking on arrival |
| T4 | Drill + 3 mm bit, deburring tool, oven mitt Pressure port (adult); mitt for the adult handling the kettle | 1 | $20.00 estimate | $20.00 | Hardware store (no link) — | Assumed owned in the low total | Adult only |
| T5 | Laptop with Arduino IDE and Python 3 + numpy (+ matplotlib, pyserial) Logger stream; heat.py | 1 | $0.00 estimate | $0.00 | School (no link) — | — | — |
| Subtotal | $104.09 | Low-cost path: $15.59 | |||||
The pack is digital files only. Hardware is bought separately.
These are standards the pack's activities are mapped to by Laue Labs. They are not a certification or endorsement by any standards body or state.
"Mapped to" means Laue Labs' alignment, not a certification.
| Activity | NGSS HS performance expectations | Practices / crosscutting | Common Core HS math |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab 1 Carnot, models | HS-PS3-1 (computational model of energy change), HS-PS3-2 | Using mathematics; Developing models | HSN-Q.A.1–3, HSA-CED.A.4 |
| Lab 2 P–V loop | HS-PS3-1, HS-PS3-3 (design a device that converts energy) | Analyzing data; Energy and matter | HSF-TF.A (sinusoids), numerical integration |
| Lab 3 temperatures | HS-PS3-4 (second law: uniform energy distribution, thermal equilibrium) | Planning investigations; Cause and effect | HSS-ID.B.6 |
| Lab 4 energy budget | HS-PS3-1, HS-PS3-4 | Analyzing and interpreting data; Systems and system models | HSS-ID.B.6, error propagation |
| Lab 5 CER | HS-ETS1-3 (trade-offs), HS-PS3-3 | Engaging in argument from evidence | — |
| Build | HS-ETS1-2 | Designing solutions | HSG-MG.A.3 |
One student or one household.
You may:
You may not:
One homeschool family, or one co-op group of up to 10 learners with its facilitator(s).
You may:
You may not:
One teacher with up to 30 students in a single class or cohort.
You may:
You may not:
All licenses: digital files only (hardware not included). Keep Laue Labs attribution on printed handouts. After checkout you get an instant download on the thanks page. License questions, more learners, or site licenses: lance.haney@gmail.com.
