Top 10 Reasons You Should Have Facebook Fan Page

Is Your Business on Facebook? If not, WHY NOT?

TOP 10 REASONS YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD HAVE A FAN PAGE

Do you own a business? If so, you need to consider setting up a Facebook fan page. What is a fan page you may say? Some refer to fan pages as “like” pages or “business” pages; all terms are basically interchangeable.

• As of 2012 there are over a BILLION Facebook users
• 48% of 18-34 year olds check Facebook when they wake up
• 35+ year olds represent over 30% of the Facebook userbase
• 71.2% of the US web audience is on Facebook
• 57% of people talk more online than they do in real life
• 48% of young Americans find out about news through Facebook
• 750 million photos were uploaded over New Year’s weekend
• In 20 minutes on Facebook there are:
• 1 million links shared
• 1.48 million event invites
• 1.97 million friend requests accepted
• 2.71 million photos uploaded
• 2.71 messages sent
• 1.32 million photos tagged
• 1.85 million status updates
• 1.58 million wall posts; and
• 10.2 million comments made.

Originally, the intent behind Facebook fan pages was to allow “famous” people or large companies to connect with the masses. A personal profile page within Facebook has a limit of 5000 friends and many requested a larger “fan” option, thus the “Fan Page” was born.

You might be thinking…well I am not a celebrity OR a large company so why do I need a Fan Page? Regardless of what type of business you have, you can benefit from having a fan page presence on Facebook and here is why…

1. Massive Marketplace

here are 600 million users on Facebook (nearly twice the population of the US);
50% of users login every day;
The average user spends 55 minutes on Facebook every day;
70% of Facebook users are located outside the US; and
Facebook is available in 70 different languages.

2. Analytics

Facebook has a feature called Insights that allows you to track your fan base demographics by gender, age, location and even language. You can also track comments that receive the most interaction which will allow you to continue providing content that will engage your target audience.
3. Branding

Fan pages are a bit of a different animal and because they are different, they add value that your personal profile does not. Fan pages allow you to brand your business, use your logo and customize your “look” just as you would a website. With this extremely valuable tool available to you, you can keep your “brand” consistent across the board as it relates to all aspects of your online presence.

The other value to fan pages is that you can keep the personal “you” separate from the business “you”. This is a great way to still maintain relationships with family and friends through your personal profile while maintaining a separate business presence on Facebook.
4. Unlimited Fans

Your personal profile page has a limit of 5000 friends that is imposed by Facebook. While most of us do not have 5000 personal friends, if you are combining your personal friends with your business contacts or prospects, this number can be turn out to be very limiting.

A fan page, on the other hand, will allow you to have an unlimited number of “fans”. Some celebrity fan pages number into the thousands and even millions of fans.

The other really big advantage of a fan page versus your personal profile, it that a fan page will allow you to send updates to all your fans at one time. Your personal profile page only allows you to send out to 20 people at a time. However, I would caution against contacting your fan base more than a few times a week. You should be careful to consider their time and you certainly don’t want to overtax their inbox with miscellaneous stuff that could just as easily be posted to the fan page wall. Sending too much stuff will simply annoy your fans and cause them to leave your fan page.
5. Google and SEO

This is a BIGGEE! Fan pages are fully indexed by Google, which means that anything you post on your fan page can be found by anyone doing a Google search. Content from your personal profile page or a group does not have this same benefit. Exposure to your business or service will be expanded because your social media content will now be found by anyone (not just a Facebook user) who searches via Google. Additionally, Facebook is the 2nd most trafficked site; second only to Google in fact. Any links from your fan page to your website will increase your chances of achieving higher rankings within Google.
6. Instant Admission

Your personal profiles as well as groups are semi closed environments, depending on privacy settings or the option of joining a specific group. Your fan page, on the other hand, is totally open to anyone who stumbles across it. If someone is searching for something through Google and your fan page pops up, that person can view the entire fan page without “liking” or “joining”. Obviously, it is your hope that they will “like” the page. You can add incentives to build the desire to join your fan page but joining is not necessary for them to view the content of the page.
7. Interaction with Your Target Market (Fans)

Your Facebook fan page permits you to have a more personal communication with your fans than you can have through your website. Obviously, you could set up forums or other communication methods but most small business owners do not travel this road. Adding features such as this can be costly and many small businesses simply do not set aside funds for this type of customer interaction. This is why a Facebook fan page is so valuable. You can have all the collaboration tools available within Facebook for FREE! You can share content, videos, photos, run contests, ask questions, etc. This interaction will build relationships with your target market (fans). Encouraging interaction and building a sense of community will ensure that they keep coming back.
8. Drive Traffic to Your Site

Another huge benefit to Facebook fan pages is that you can customize them and make them appear as a mini version of your website. You can have an opt-in option, display videos, and even have customers order directly from your fan page. Remember Facebook has over 350 million ACTIVE users and if you tap into even a fraction of this market, WOW! By connecting and building relationships you dramatically increase your ability to market your products and services to your fan base!
9. Multimedia Advantages

Facebook allows the end user to upload videos, photos and audio files for FREE. Essentially this means that you do not have to worry about your web host dinging you for more bandwidth if your video goes viral and gets 500,000 views in a month. Additionally, it is a known fact that people response rates to videos are much higher than text. The use of videos on your fan page will increase the quality their experience on your fan page which will keep them coming back.

You might feel that your business would not generate a lot of interest but fan pages are a MUST if you own a business. They provide one more way for your business to be “seen” and that is a crucial piece of marketing online…visibility.

10. Events

You can use Facebook Events to advertise happenings within your business to your fan base to gain more exposure.

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Facebook and SEO : 5 Ways To Optimize Your Business Page

Having a Facebook page for your business is a great first step, but to truly maximize it as a marketing machine and capitalize on the promotional power that Facebook offers, business owners need to successfully optimize their pages using proven SEO tactics and strategies.

Top Optimizing Tips For Transforming Your Facebook Page

If you’re ready to transform your existing Facebook page into an effectively optimized promotional resource, read on. Incorporating these five critical SEO techniques can help ensure that your organization is operating at the top of its Facebook game.

Tip #1 – Consider your featured photos: You may want to renovate your top five featured photos feed to ensure that visitors see your images in the order you want them to see them, each and every time they check your page out. These images can refresh each time you add a photo, or you can set them to present a fixed, branded visual to captivate your visitors.

Tip #2 – Tag your followers: Speaking of pictures, be sure to also tag your posted Facebook photos as needed with the names of your followers. The tagging fun doesn’t stop there; also tag fans directly in your posts by using the “@” symbol before the client’s name that you’re connecting with. This will instantly let them (and their entire network) see your update.

Tip #3 – Sprinkle keywords throughout your page: Keywords are still a magnet for search engine visibility. Occasionally use naturally-placed keywords in your status updates, photo descriptions, and overall communication to boost your page’s SEO benefit.

Tip #4 – Maximize the value of your page’s left-side panel: On the left side of every Facebook page is a list of links that can be displayed for every viewer to see. Adding relevant links such as “events,” “photos,” “discussions,” etc. can make your most important business information easily accessible to your clients. Remember, only 8 links can be viewed at a time before the panel requires visitors to click a “More” drop down menu…choose your links wisely.

Tip #5 – Embrace the vanity URL: Never settle for the standard issue Facebook URL that comes with opening your account; Facebook vanity URL’s offers business owners the chance to quickly direct users to an easy to remember link that can also help enhance brand recognition.

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Best Way on Testing Laptop Backlight (CCFL) and Inverter

We will be concentrating on LCD Inverter and CCFL bulb.

Laptop with black screen problem is commonly caused by:

1. a defective backlight, which is the cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) bulb malfunction
2. defective laptop’s inverter board
3. no video output going to the LCD Screen

It is not an easy job repairing laptops specially if we don’t have parts that we can use to replace to the parts we are suspecting to be the culprit. So now, we will going to try to make our own tools for testing a bad CCFL backlight of a laptop.

Tools Needed For this Project:

1. 9volts battery
2. 9v battery connector
3. known good CCFL inverter from any laptop or LCD monitor.

Once you have the tools that we needed, we can continue to the next procedure.

About The Video Output:

If the laptop is equipped with an external monitor connector, we can easily check if the problem of having a black screen is caused by a faulty video card or GPU within the laptop or maybe the problem resides inside the LCD which is the inverter and CCFL bulb.

Connect an external monitor to the VGA Port of the laptop and check if there is a video output to the monitor.

There is some model of laptop that requires you to press a FN key plus a key with a picture of a monitor to switch between the LCD laptop to external monitor.

Then now, if you get a video on your external monitor then you now know there is a LCD screen, CCFL bulb and inverter board problem. If the external monitor doesn’t get any video at all, then suspect a video (GPU) or video cable problem.

Checking the CCFL Bulb:

On checking whether your CCFL bulb if it is still functional, we can use our own known good inverter to test the CCFL bulb is still working or in good condition.

Using the Known Good Inverter:

Now, with our known good inverter, connect the CCFL bulb. And next, supplies a power to it using our 9v battery. A laptop inverter is usually powered by 12v and up but with our 9v battery, it is just enough to start the circuit of an inverter.

Connect the black probe from our battery source to the yellow wire, which is usually the 12v supply coming from laptop circuits, but to find more accurately the connection of the power source of an inverter, all you have to do is to find where is the connection of the SMD fuse in the circuit of the inverter. And the black probe to the ground screw hole of the inverter board.If our CCFL bulb lights up like in the picture below, then we now know that our CCFL bulb is good and working and now we can suspect that our inverter board is bad.

Checking Inverter:

Since that our known good inverter have able to light up the LCD Screen, and then connect the inverter of the laptop back to its position. Then we are going to conduct a test to it using the procedure we did to our known good inverter. And if it won’t lights up the CCFL bulb, then we can suspect that our inverter is defective and needs to be replaced to a new one or simply you can check it if the fuse is open. If it is open, try to make a jumper through the fuse using a thin wire to serves as our fuse, then redo the testing again with same procedure as we use on our known good inverter.

Checking the Power Supply Line:

If our known good inverter light up our CCFL bulb and the Laptop’s inverter also lights up using the 9v battery as its power source, then we are going to suspect the 12 volts power supply line from the laptop’s motherboard.

Let us get our multitester/multimeter and set it to DC Volts.

Plugged our AC Adapter and turn on our Laptop.

Put the black probe to the ground screw hole on the motherboard and the red probe to the yellow or the supply line and see if you have a voltage reading on that connection.

If you are can’t read any voltages from the connector then let us suspect a problem on the motherboard itself and this needs a lot of knowledge and experience on repairing Laptop.

At this point, we will have to bring the unit to a technician who have the knowledge of repairing a complicated problem of a Laptop.

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How-To Make Transformless Power Supply

Upon surfing the net, I have found this site: http://electroschematics.com displaying their projects on making a Transformerless Power Supply with a 12 volts output voltage and a current of 100mA.

This is a transformerless power supply for low current applications. C1 is the X rated AC capacitor that reduces high volt AC. D1-D4 rectifies AC to DC and C2 removes ripples. R1 is the bleeder to remove stored current in AC when power is off. R2 limits inrush current. A Zener can be used in the output to get regulated DC.

Schematic Diagram of Transformerless Power Supply

We usually see this kind of power supply on a China made model of rechargeable products like flashlights and mosquito killer. This circuit catches my attention because of its application in our work which needs a power supply and we can also use this power low current circuits like some of our projects that don’t needs too much power requirements.

Caution! Circuit is lethal since it carries high volt AC. Do not touch or test when connected to Mains. Enclose in a shock proof case.

Note: “Be careful, this circuit is not isolated from 220 volts AC. It needs some extra care in handling this kind of supply. Dangerous High Voltage AC.”

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Do-It-Yourself Piso Net

The Piso Net is most like the absolute solution for Internet Cafe owner that needless manning, for a minimum of single person to manage the small business. This Piso Net kit can be DIY and everything is available at Raon, Quiapo, Manila.

Just few of screenshot of the Piso Net kit, this Piso Net kit is also customizable that fits your needs.

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Piso Net Snap Review

Piso Net is a token Internet with your 1 (one) peso coin you can already usedand surf the net, the concept is just similar to the amusement token games before you can play you must insert first your token and the timer will starts.

Piso Net has been making quite a buzz in the metro since early 2010, but it’s not only until recently that the enterprise got the attention of business-minded folks. So what is Piso Net and how are things from a business standpoint? Is it really a viable source of extra income?

Piso Net is basically a merge of PC rental and Arcade rental services wherein customers can pay the services by inserting coins to the machine. The rate is typically 4mins/peso which also amounts to the typical Internet Cafe rate of Php15/hr. This rate can be tweaked higher or lower either to be more competitive and entice customers or gain more income by decreasing the minutes/peso.

So if there’s not much difference in pricing, what is the advantage of Piso Net over traditional Internet Cafe's? Well some internet Cafe have a fixed rates and minimum minutes of usage, this makes for not-so ideal scenario for budget-conscious Pinoys. And although the rate is the same, Piso Net offers a much flexible alternative that most internet Cafes don't and that is to have more control on how much time and money a customer is willing to spend at a given time.

The setup is rather simple with the bare PC parts are inside a wooden box similar to that of an Arcade machine or Videoke machine. Much like the Arcade machine, it is activated by inserting coin/s which triggers the machine. Once the time is consumed, the machine cuts off the display and will resume when a coin is inserted. The bottom wooden part inside the machine has a carved hole to collect the coins.

Now that you have a better perspective of how it works, let’s delve in to the business side of things. PC Express is one of the known providers of Piso Net machines. They offer a variety of configurations pegged at different price points.

Here are the available configurations on their website.

Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz dual-core
120GB/250GB IDE HDD
4GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM
NVidia GT430 1Gb DDR3 VRAM
18.5" BenQ LED Monitor
Creative 2W speakers
Php23,995

Intel Pentium dual-core G620 2.60GHz
120GB/250GB IDE HDD
4GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM
Radeon HD5570 1GB DDR3 VRAM
18.5" BenQ LED Monitor
Creative 2W speakers
Php21,495

There are also other providers who offer the same configuration for a cheaper price. Depending on your market, which is most of the time your neighbors, you can choose a configuration that suits your market’s needs (internet, gaming and/or document editing). Needless to say that gauging your market and choosing the right configuration is crucial to the success of the business and the amount of time to spend to return the investment.

We did some research on how things are going on a revenue standpoint. We interviewed a housewife married to an OFW who runs a 3 Piso Net units business for little over six months now. She got it for Php20,000 apiece and placed it in small space inside their house. According to her the monthly revenue averages at Php17,000/month. If we break down on a per week and per day, the revenues averages at Php4,265 and Php610 respectively. So a Piso Net unit generates more or less Php5,600/month, Php1,410/week and Php200 a day. This revenue is based on 16×7 operation on a not-so developed areas.

In terms of cost of operation, she said that the 3 units electricity consumption amounts to Php2,700 per month and Php1,000 for the internet service connection. Since she’s not paying for the rental location, the total cost of operation only sums to Php3,700 per month. So if we deduct the TCO from the monthly average revenue (17,000 minus 3,700), you'd have an average net revenue of Php13,300 per month. At this pace, the turnaround for the return of investment is only 5 months.

Another benefit of Piso Net is that it requires less effort to maintain unlike with Internet Cafes. All the personnel need to do is to make sure that he/she has more than enough stock of 1 peso coins and units are pretty much on auto-pilot. I only wish that the future iteration of the machine supports coin amounts bigger than a Peso because it can be a pain in the neck to drop a coin every now and then.

So is the Piso Net a lucrative business? Given the breakdown of revenue and the right circumstances, yes we think it is a viable source of extra income. But in any business there will be potential drawbacks, we'd like to hear your thoughts on what are the potential disadvantages of running a Piso Net business.

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How-To Make Your Own Isolation Transformer

According to Wikipedia, “An isolation transformer is a transformer used to transfer electrical power from a source of alternating current (AC) power to some equipment or device while isolating the powered device from the power source, usually for safety.”

Circuit Diagram of Isolation Transformer Using Two Transformer

Making your very own Isolation Transformer can keep you away from the risk of hazardous electrical shock while we are doing some repairs. According to Mi25, ” It also keeps us away from further damage to the equipment we are repairing like TV set, power supplies, and amplifiers that are under test condition because it will make the AC output low. This may not absolutely prevent component damage but it will surely helps in most cases.”

Here are the sample photos of the isolation transformer based on the circuit diagram above:

Use two identical transformer with a 6amp/22o volts with an output of 12v-0v-12v center tap.

Connect it back to back the 12v-12v. The 0v don’t have any connection at all.

Completely wired with neon lamp connected as its power indicator.

Isolation Transformer Powering a 220V/100watt bulb this article and images are all credits to: Mi25 of Elab Forum

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Major Health Hazards of Using Compact Fluorescent Lights

Today majority of the people are concerned about environmental safety and take adequate measures to reduce green house effect. One of the simplest methods to protect the environment is with the use of CFL bulbs. Compact Fluorescent Lights are known to be energy efficient and inexpensive in comparison to ordinary incandescent bulbs. Today it is widely used all over the world as it possesses many beneficial features.

However, most people are unaware of its grave drawbacks even though it helps to conserve energy. It includes a greater health risk in comparison to the ordinary incandescent light bulbs. There are many serious health risks associated with the use of Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs and some of the most important drawbacks are elaborated in the following sections of this article.

Dangers of Using CFL Bulbs:

Mercury Content: The Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs are actually hazardous to the environment as it contains mercury. Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that affects the functions of the neurotransmitters of the human brain. It also causes serious damages to the cell and tissues of the body. Exposure to mercury can cause autism, infertility, thyroid disorders, anxiety, memory loss and depression. It is highly dangerous to pets, pregnant women and small children.

The mercury contained in the bulbs pose little threat to the environment but when it is broken, it releases toxic fumes which are very harmful to health. It is hazardous to the environment when it is disposed in garbage cans and land fills. With the use of cfl bulbs, mankind is exposed to various types of illnesses. Today it is considered to be a hazardous waste material which should not be disposed in landfills and garbage cans.

Migraines: The use of CFL bulbs are also related to migraine attacks. Most people experience headaches and strains due to the excessive usage of these light bulbs. In the earlier days, CFL bulbs used to flicker which may have caused migraine attacks. There are no substantial evidence to prove the relation between migraine attacks and fluorescent lights. But many people have experienced headaches and blurring visions with the use of these light bulbs.

UV Emissions: Fluorescent light bulbs also emit ultraviolet rays and so it is considered to be harmful to human health. People experience skin rashes and other ailments due to the use of CFL bulbs. It also proves to be detrimental to people suffering from skin disorders.

Radio Frequency Radiation: Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs emit radio frequency radiations which affects the functions of wireless instruments.

Despite the consequences, CFL bulbs are used in homes, office spaces and other places as it is still considered to be one of the best lighting options. However, there are some steps which can be followed to avoid potential health hazards.

•  Choose to buy fluorescent lights with low UV radiation
•  Handle these bulbs with care
•  Buy bulbs with glass covers that will prevent UV radiation
•  Take proper measures to clean the area if the bulb breaks

LED and incandescent bulbs are still considered to be the best lighting options as it is safer and eco-friendly.

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Compact Fluorescent Lights And Environmental Issues

CFL (Compact fluorescent lights) bulbs are seen as an environmentally friendly replacement for incandescent lights. But are they really as good for the environment as claimed? The two issues often raised as arguments against using CFL's are

1 - It requires more energy to manufacture a CFL than an incandescent lamp.

2 - CFL's contain mercury which can potentially end up polluting the environment.

The first issue is fairly easily answered in that even though they do require additional energy to manufacture; this is soon offset as CFLs last a lot longer than incandescent bulb.

On this issue of mercury pollution I have summarized some of the for and against points of view below:

Arguments For CFL's

• Overall mercury emission by compact fluorescent lamps is less than the mercury released into the atmosphere by coal-fired power generation for an equivalent incandescent lamp over the same period. This assumption is based on the electricity generated to run lighting in your local area being generated via coal fired power stations. While this currently (2007) the case in Australia many places in the world today generate their electricity by other more environmentally friendly means.
• Mercury from used CFLs in landfills is not released into air and with proper disposal will not be released into the subsurface or groundwater.
• The mercury content of CFLs that use 25 to 40 watts of electricity will be capped at 6 mg per unit (this is proposed in the United States)
• Because CFLs longer life cycle, fewer bulbs and less packaging ends up in landfill.

Arguments Against CFL's

• Many places in the world produce little energy from coal fired power plants (eg California). In the USA coal plants are now mandated to reduce their mercury emissions by between 70% and 90%.The issue of mercury is therefore likely to become more significant as electricity generation gets cleaner and CFLs become more widespread.
• The 6mg of mercury claimed for CFL's is largely a goal at present and not the current reality.
• A lot of CFL's are made in China with energy sourced from coal fired power plants.
• CFL's are delivered here on ships using bunker oil, the worst mercury producer of the fuel oils.
• There are currently very few recycling program in place or planned to handle the number of CFL's proposed.

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Kabang : famed dog lost her snout and upper jaw for saving lives

SAN FRANCISCO -- A famed dog that lost her snout and upper jaw saving two girls' lives in the Philippines was released from a California hospital Monday, officials said.

The dog – named Kabang – will be headed back to its owner in the Philippines following treatment at the University of California, Davis veterinary hospital, said UC Davis veterinary professor Frank Verstraete. Doctors at the hospital performed surgery to heal her wounds, though they could not reconstruct Kabang's jaw or snout, Verstraete said.

"She's a very, very happy, functional dog, and that is all that we were after," Verstraete said.

Kabang had her snout and upper jaw sheared off in December 2011 when she jumped in front of a motorcycle in the Philippines. She saved the lives of her owner's daughter and niece, who were apparently in the path of the oncoming cycle.

Nearly a year after Kabang sustained the injuries, a nurse from Buffalo, N.Y. was able to raise the money to bring her to the U.S. Veterinarians in the Philippines were apparently unable to treat her injuries.

Doctors at UC Davis were unable to perform surgery on Kabang initially because she needed to be treated for other ailments, including a tumor and heartworms. Treatment of those ailments would have prevented her wounds from healing.

Doctors took skin from her cheeks, neck, and forehead to cover up sensitive areas that were exposed on her face during the March surgery, Verstraete said.

Kabang is expected to fly back to the Philippines on Thursday. Via huffingtonpost

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Health Benefits of Alkaline Water

Water is the most important element of sustaining life. Water is also an important health nutrient. It is recommended that one drinks minimum of eight glasses of water to maintain the elasticity of the skin, to regulate body temperature, for absorption of nutrients into the blood and for transporting oxygen and nutrients to the cells. Do you know drinking water is essential to remove the toxins from the body and for proper bowel movements? However, the question is, are you drinking quality water? Does the water contain alkaline?

What is Alkaline Water?

Water which is neither neutral nor acidic on the pH scale is known as the alkaline water. In fact, the level of pH is higher in alkalized, or ionized, water compared to the normal tap water. Natural alkaline water is found in the springs, ponds and deep wells in the higher altitudes. It is also found in glacial runoff streams and mountain wells. However, alkaline water can be acquired in your home because it can be created using a water ionizer.

The Benefits of Alkaline Water

Drinking alkalized water has many benefits because alkaline neutralizes acid. Consumption of this water facilitates body to reduce as well as dispose off the acidic wastes. Remember, accumulation of acidic waste leads to aging. Alkaline water helps to reverse aging by dissolving acid wastes. However, you must understand water that is ionized is not a medicine but only an agent that has the ability to retain your health and youth. Let's delve into the benefits of ionized water.

To prevent your body from dehydration you need to drink at least four liters of water that is rich in minerals and alkaline. Alkaline water has a pH value between 8 and 9 and this helps in hydration. It is also an excellent conductor of electrochemical activity between cells. By flushing out the toxins and acids from the body, this water helps in regulating all the cellular functions from the heart beats to the neural performances of the brain.

Drinking water water before you eat helps in weight reduction. It is a fact that food cravings are more extreme when you are thirsty. Quenching your thirst can lead to eating less and healthier food.

Studies show that alkaline water is an anti-oxidant and helps to increase the energy level of your body. It also facilitates clarity of mind due to extra oxygen content.

Drinking ionized water before or after meals would enhance efficient absorption of nutrients and also improves digestion. In brief, alkaline water helps to maintain the pH level of your body. You can rightly say that it is one of the keys to stay healthy and young.

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Backtrack 5 OpenVas Tutorial

OpenVas is a open source vulnerability assesment system just like nessus, openVas used to find the vulnerabilities on a computer system, it is open source so you dont need to buy it, however you can get home feed of nessus for free too, but we consider both of them.

You can find nessus on backtrack 5 but you have to install openvas on backtrack5, so below is the tutorial for Openvas it includes how to install openvas in backtrack 5 and some basic usage.

Backtrack5 is not necessary to run openvas, if you are using some other version of backtrack or if you are using some other distro like Ubuntu than the procedure is same.

How To Install OpenVas

Open terminal on bt5 or ubuntu and type exactly

root@bt:~# apt-get install openvas

root@bt:~# sudo apt-get update

It begins your openvas installation and update all the applications. When Openvas has been installed you can find it on Application --> Backtrack --> Vulnerability assessment --> vulnerability scanner --> Openvas . See the picture.

On the next step click on openvas-check-setup, it will show you the problem and suggest some solution.
Its time to add user, from the menu select Openvas adduser, enter the login name and password, for rule type ctrl-d.

Now click on OpenVas NVT sync, by this you will get the latest NVT's from openvas database, you must do this step frequently to make update your Openvas.
Start openvas scanner from the menu, it may takes some time.
Open terminal for setting up openvas manager, use the command

root@bt:~# openvas-mkcert-client -n om -i

rebuild the database by the command

root@bt:~# openvasmd --rebuild

On the terminal type the command to set openvas administrator

root@bt:~# openvasad -c 'add_user' -n openvasadmin -r Admin

Now click on start Openvas manager from the menu and use the command.

root@bt:~# openvasmd -p 9390 -a 127.0.0.1

Start openvas administrator from the menu and type

root@bt:~# openvasad -a 127.0.0.1 -p 9393

Your are almost done, just start Greenbone security assistant and use

root@bt:~# gsad --http-only --listen=127.0.0.1 -p 9392

Now open your web browser and type http://127.0.0.1:9392/
Use your username and password that has been set on previous step.

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Free Energy Generator believe it or not!

To all my blog readers I want to share this YouTube video about this Free Energy Generator it looks like really convincing and believable without recalling your EE101. Feel free and enjoy watching to this video and credits to the uploader.

To prove this video for my hesitation I will start soon collecting all these electronics motors, magnet and the coils. It looks like this is unbelievable to my knowledge.

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Low-Head Microhydro - Thai Style

For the past several years, Chris Greacen has been living in Bangkok, Thailand, with his wife Chom and their two children, 5-year-old Ty and 3-year-old Isara. He and Chom run a small, nonprofit organization called Palang Thai. (“Palang” means energy or empowerment. “Thai” means freedom or independence.) Through policy and hands-on activities, the organization works to improve governance in the region’s energy sector, and to increase the use of renewable energy in Thailand and the Mekong region of Southeast Asia. They’ve enjoyed several victories in their tenure: drafting Thailand’s net metering regulations, helping to shape legislation that establishes an independent energy regulator, and installing solar-electric systems for medical clinics in war-torn areas of Burma (see “Solar Lights for a Dark Time in Burma” in HP113). Here Chris writes about one of their most recent projects: the installation of a low-head microhydro system in northern Thailand.

Last summer, while my family and I were visiting Doi Inthanon National Park in northern Thailand, we spent some time in Mae Klang Luang—a hill-tribe village about 12 miles inside the park. Though the 200-year-old village only recently opened its doors to tourists, it has quickly become a sought-after destination for its cultural and ecological allure. The village sits in the shadow of Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s tallest mountain—among the easternmost beginnings of the Himalayas. The villagers are members of the Karen ethnic minority who migrated to the Thai/Burma area centuries ago from Mongolia. Though the village is very traditional in most ways—the people still harvest and thresh rice by hand—the electric grid was brought into Mae Klang Luang in 2007. Even with utility electricity on hand, some of the villagers still prefer energy independence—tapping the watershed’s abundant streams and rivers to generate their own electricity.

We ended up in Mae Klang Luang after a friend told me about a homestay program that would allow us to live with a local family for a few days. Chom and I liked the idea of supporting the community while exposing our children to the Karen way of life. When we finally arrived in the village, after a two-hour car ride along winding roads, we were surprised to find a film production crew, complete with police barricades, setting up to film a documentary that involved a member of the Thai royal family. An overzealous policeman told us that we could not stay in the village and we would have to turn back. Luckily, a local man, admittedly upset by the policeman’s readiness to turn away tourism dollars, overheard the conversation and intervened. Our new friend introduced himself as Somsak Khiriphumthong and directed us down the road to a host home.

Later that evening, I met up with Somsak at a bamboo shed where community members gather to roast, grind, and drink locally produced organic coffee. I came to learn that Somsak runs a training center that teaches local people about the importance of organic farming, environmental preservation, and watershed management. His mission, as he explained, is to promote ecologically sound microenterprise while still preserving the cultural traditions of his people. Somewhere between our first and second cups of coffee, the topic shifted to renewable energy and my work with Palang Thai.

Somsak admitted that he had reluctantly brought grid electricity to the training center from the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), Thailand’s rural distribution company. Initially he had resisted using PEA because of his concern for the environment. “Trees have to be cut down to get the power poles in, and PEA electricity comes from Thailand’s mineral resources, like coal,” says Somsak. “When they take coal from the mountains, they destroy them, and the air too. Plus, PEA power means paying a bill every month.”

Even with grid electricity now on site, Somsak was still interested in using a nearby stream to generate electricity to power some of the center’s loads. Somsak said that he had tried his hand at hydro-electricity several years ago, and rehashed one failed attempt that involved a makeshift Pelton turbine he made from a bicycle wheel and an automotive alternator. After talking some more about the water resource at the center, I said, “Well, I know of a turbine that I can bring up. Let’s do it.”

Back for the Installation

In November, I made my way back to Mae Klang Luang with a $90 Vietnamese-manufactured, low-head hydro turbine in hand. While the use of these turbines is still fairly uncommon in this region, they are popular with the few locals who already use them, primarily due to the units’ low cost. The fact that the technology is pretty straightforward is attractive too. There are few parts, worn-out bearings can be easily replaced, and the weir and waterway that deliver water to the turbine can be inexpensively built using local lumber, rocks, sandbags, and bamboo.

The turbine I purchased for Somsak’s installation came equipped with a guide vane and propeller assembly, a 2-foot-long enclosed shaft, and a permanent-magnet, 220-volt (nominal) AC alternator. The $90 price tag also included a small voltage controller. The turbine/controller combination is designed to power AC loads directly, without any kind of battery storage in the system. If the combined household electric load is insufficient, the controller’s simple transistor circuit drives a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) to maintain a constant load on the turbine by diverting excess electricity to a resistive submersible heating element. This control method regulates the turbine’s AC voltage.

Prior to my arrival, Somsak and his friends had built a small support for the turbine’s trough (waterway) from scrap wood and bamboo. The support, which needed to be strong enough to support the weight of the trough, turbine, and several hundred pounds of water, was positioned near a small stream that runs year-round by the training center. At this location, the streambed dropped about 6 feet over a 15-foot span.

When I arrived in Mae Klang Luang, we immediately got to work building a 15-foot-long waterway in two sections, using lumber and bamboo that was on hand. Much of the work was done with a multitool and a machete—though we grabbed hammers, wire cutters, and screwdrivers as needed. We cut a 6-inch-diameter hole for the turbine in the bottom of one end of the trough and wrapped the end with a rounded section of galvanized sheet metal.

Once the waterway was fastened to the bamboo support structure, we secured the bottom of the turbine in the trough and then fit the draft tube—6.5 feet of 6-inch PVC pipe—to the base of the trough. We positioned the pipe slightly above the streambed but still submersed in the pool below so that the water discharge from the draft tube was unobstructed.

The wiring of the project was pretty simple. We ran 150 feet of cable from the turbine to the controller, which we mounted inside one of the center’s buildings. We installed the diversion-heating element in a 20-gallon bucket of water located under the building to keep it away from the village children. I made sure Somsak understood it was imperative to keep the diversion load submerged to prevent it from burning out.

Up & Running

After everything was installed, we went over the hydro setup one last time, double-checking the wiring and installation details. Once we determined that everything was good to go, we opened the intake in the stream, watched the trough fill with water, and listened as the hydro turbine spun.

Along with the turbine’s whirring, a loud sucking sound caught our attention. Through trial and error, we discovered that a bad seal between the draft tube and the trough was affecting the turbine’s output. Somsak disappeared for a bit and miraculously, considering our remote location, came back with a sheet of firm synthetic sponge material used to make the soles of sandals, the locals’ preferred footwear. We cut a gasket from the material, fit it between the trough and draft tube, and just like that, the turbine’s output jumped to 0.7 amps at 220 VAC—154 watts—from about 500 gallons per minute of water falling only 6 feet.

I did a little more geeking with my digital multimeter and noticed that the turbine’s voltage controller seemed to produce a waveform with considerable harmonics. At one point, my meter, obviously reading the third harmonic, indicated a frequency of 155 hertz. This “dirty” waveform really wasn’t very surprising. The control unit operates by slicing part of the alternator’s sine wave to send to the diversion load, which means that only a sliced portion of the waveform is going to the appliances. For lighting, fluorescent bulbs with the old-fashioned magnetic ballasts seem to be more tolerant of the turbine’s low power quality than compact fluorescents (CFs) with electronic ballasts.

Power quality aside, our hydro installation was both fun and successful, and Somsak was delighted to have a functioning hydro system at the education center. The turbine powers fluorescent lights in several buildings and the occasional small appliance, like a radio or CD player.

Low Head & Low Cost

Reportedly, 100,000 low-head hydro turbines have been installed in rural Vietnam. And every one of these turbines creates more interest in utilizing local hydro resources to generate renewable electricity at remote sites beyond the reach of the utility grid. In Somsak’s case, even though utility power was available, he opted to produce his own electricity, independently—further proving that the call for clean, independent energy is not only heard across the United States, but also in the remote villages in Thailand, and everywhere in between.

Via Homepower

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Chris Greacen (www.palangthai.org) and his family will move stateside this spring. Thanks to a long-term lease from the Lopez Community Land Trust, the family will build a net zero energy, solar-powered home on Lopez Island in Washington’s Puget Sound.

Web Extra: Video of this project can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=cgreacen

Center for Water Resources Conservation & Development • info@warecod.org • www.warecod.org • Vietnamese low-head turbines

Energy Systems & Design • www.microhydropower.com • Canadian low-head turbine manufacturer

PowerPal • www.powerpal.com • Canadian importer of Vietnamese low-head turbines

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Solar Chimney Power Plants

Solar Chimneys work on the simple principle that hot air rises. This is the power that drove the domestic Smoke Jack which turned, for over 300 years, the roasting spits of Western Europe. However the Solar Chimney utilises solar power unlike the Smoke Jack which turns in the rising hot gasses of the cooking range.

A tall chimney is built in the center of a large transparent solar collector. The suns rays will heat the air beneath the collector and the warmed, becoming less dense, ascends the chimney. The rising hot air will cool become denser and draw up more air in the same fashion as a tall chimney. As with normal chimneys or flues the taller the chimney the greater the draught obtained .

A turbine set at the base of the chimney drives an electrical generator. Greatest power will be obtained during the day however the stored heat in the ground below the solar collector will enable the turbine to operate at reduced power during the hours of darkness.

The first Solar Chimney Power Plant was built and commissioned in 1983, in Manzanares, Spain. The project was funded by a research grant awarded by the German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology .

This Solar Chimney was in operation for approximately seven years. The successful operation of this pilot plant led to the construction of two small scale demonstration plants in Sri Lanka.

An interesting secondary use is one of Greenhouse Cultivation, since plants may be grown under 75% of of the solar collector area. The greenhouse effect provides stabile even temperature conditions. However since Solar chimneys are best sited in dry and infertile lands, in order to support intensive agriculture, additional water would be required.

Further information on Solar Chimney Power Plants can be found in this PDF format document

For information on developments in Australia see www.enviromission.com.au

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Solar Air Conditioning

This goes back to something the Romans actually did. It is called a solar chimney. It turns out that the soil about 5 feet underground remains a constant temperature year round. For instance, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island it is about 52 F year round. We don't really need air conditioning though. But a lot of furnaces bring in fresh air, so why not preheat that air from 30 F up to 52 F? So, we could use part of this system as well.

With the solar chimney, the sun heats the air in a black metal pipe or a black box acting like a solar oven. When the air gets hot it rises, but it is connected through the attic to a ceiling vent. If the windows are all closed, then this causes a suction in the house. That suction causes air to come into a lower vent that connects to a pipe or pipes that run underground like in the picture above. The pipe isn't under the house, it is just buried in the yard about 5 to 6 feet deep.

There is a lot of math involved, but you could assume certain things. First, use the 4 inch pvc pipe. Secondly, you will need about 50 feet of it per 60 - 80 cfm of air flow you need. And you would want to use a solar chimney for each pvc pipe you use. Thirdly, use one pipe for every main room in your house. If you had a dining room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, living room and 2 bathrooms (just ignore the bathrooms) then you would need 6 pvc pipes and 6 solar chimneys on the roof. The pvc pipe would join up in a common place when they enter the house and the solar chimneys would all be running parallel. You don't have 6 seperate ceiling vents and 6 seperate cold air vents coming in.

And it is better to run 2 lengths of 50 feet than to run one at 100 feet. You get 120 - 160 cfm, plus twice the surface area for cooling.

This page talks about using the pipes with your current AC fan.
http://mb-soft.com/solar/saving.html

Warning: the above page is very long but full of some great info.

Also, if you live in a place with dry soil or if your ground temp is closer to 60 F than 50, then you will want a few more pipes. Even more if your ground temp is closer to 70 F.

But I would like to point out something because it may not hit home until you read the above link. A 50 foot pipe that is 4 inches in diameter touches over 50 square feet of soil. At 52 F soil temp, then that is about 15,000 BTU/hr cooling. After about an hour the soil temp starts to rise and eventually you are down to about 5,000 BTU/hr. But if you were just cooling one room, then it is perfect. Not because 5,000 BTU/hr is perfect for a small room, but because if you are cooling a small room, then it gets cool and you shut the system down. This gives the soil time to cool off again around the pipe. If you try to cool a whole house with the one pipe, it never would cool enough and it would run all the time and the soil temp rises and it stops cooling completely.

I am sad that all new houses weren't built with this kind of thing in mind. It can save over 100 kWh per day in the summer per house that uses this type of setup. Even if it isn't solar chimney but underground piping and existing air handler in the home. A 200 to 600 watt fan sure beats a 5,000 to 10,000 watt compressor. Imagine if the housing boom just didn't create big Mcmansions that cost more (for no good reason) but it created new houses that could add value to society. All that energy and money wasted and nothing to show for it except houses that will use up energy like nobody's business and will fall apart (due to shoddy construction and cheap parts) within 10 years. And what is really sad, a system like this could be installed by the builder for less than $1,000. But instead, that builder chose to pay more than that for a conventional air conditioner. And the system talked about on the above link uses your existing air conditioner minus the compressor. So, once it is designed and built correctly, it acts just like a conventional AC, but almost energy free. Or you could use solar and batteries for the AC fan at that point.

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Alkaline Water, the Most Effective Healthy Habit

Why Alkaline?

Research has shown that diseases cannot live in an alkaline environment. Highly acidic diets common in current lifestyles are directly related to the excessive incidence of people suffering from allergies, weight issues, premature aging and far more serious diseases. Thus by increasing alkaline intake to balance pH, our bodies will be more resistant to health issues and better equipped for disease prevention.

To really achieve and maintain a healthy pH balance in your body, you need to take your entire diet and lifestyle into consideration, ensuring you mainly consume alkaline forming foods. This could seem a daunting task and is better achieved by making small changes over a period of time. However, drinking alkaline water is a simple first step you can take to get you started on your endeavor to gain a healthier lifestyle and prevent diseases.

Alkaline Water Benefits

The importance of drinking water is already well known and consuming at least 2L a day is already high on our to-do list for health. Given that the human body is 70% water, it makes sense then that drinking alkaline water is key to obtaining a healthy pH balance and a great starting point for an alkaline diet. Specifically, alkaline water is attributed to the following:

1. High Antioxidant Power - We hear a lot about antioxidants and their ability to slow the aging process by counteracting free radicals. Free radicals enter the body quite naturally through environmental toxins found in food, water and air and they actually help the body to fight infections. However excess free radicals attack healthy cells by taking oxygen from them. Antioxidants contain surplus oxygen which is donated to free radicals thus preventing destruction of healthy cells. The antioxidants in alkaline water are especially useful as they are easily assimilated due to its liquid form.
2. Aids Colon Cleansing - The intestines is where many health issues first arise, thus it's very important for overall health to cleanse toxins from the colon. Alkaline water is very effective in flushing out toxins and poisons which cling on to the intestine walls, generally with less side effects than from other detox programs.
3. Detoxify and hydrate skin - Likewise, alkaline water is very effective in clearing the skin of unwanted toxins. When the skin is pH balanced, it is better able to absorb vital nutrients ensuring skin is rejuvenated and hydrated.
4. Aids weight loss - Fat storage is associated to high acidity in the body. By alkalizing the body we can break down fatty cells and improve digestion resulting in weight loss. Alkaline water is especially effective as it is more readily absorbed than alkaline forming foods.
5. Boost energy and fight fatigue - Fatigue is so common these days that it seems to be a normal part of life. But it's actually a side effect of too much acid in the body which dehydrates and tires the human body. Alkaline water with its high oxygen content and ability to detoxify, cleanse and hydrate naturally raises energy levels.

Sources of Alkaline Water

There are various sources available and it's probably best to experiment to find which is best for you.

• Squeezing lemon into your water is the simplest way to alkalize water at home.
• pH drops can be added directly to water.
• A water ionizer stick can be submerged in water to increase alkalinity which is great when you're on the move.
• Likewise, a portable water ionizer bottle is an excellent way to alkalize water when away from home.
• An alkaline water ionizer which connects to your faucets provides the greatest range of alkaline and acidic water in the home. This allows for acidic water to sterilize and clean cooking equipment and wounds, and alkaline water for cooking and drinking.

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Return of Solar Chimney?

"The idea for solar updraft towers…[originated in 1903]…In 1982 a German engineer…[trapped hot air] under a wide expanse of heat-absorbing material and then forced [it] up a central ventilation shaft, powering a turbine in the process…[but] only two fully-functioning solar updraft towers have ever been built: a 22-metre-high chimney in Botswana in 2005, and the 1982 prototype constructed by Jörg Schlaich of Schlaich Bergermann and Partners in Manzanares, Spain…

"Schlaich admits his pilot tower—a small-scale construction which produced up to 50 kW, had a height of 195 metres and a heat-collecting canopy measuring 46,000 sq meters…[was not optimal but] impressed with the results… In the Manzanares pilot, daytime heating of the ground under the canopy meant air continued to be heated into the night, driving the turbine around the clock. Researchers were also surprised to find that condensation allowed plants to blossom in the erstwhile dry earth…"

"…[A solar chimney] requires no water, has virtually no running costs and can be built from low-tech materials…Professor Christos Papageorgiou, whose company FSC Technologies aims to commercialise air-filled, fabric-based ‘floating solar chimneys’ in place of rigid solar updraft towers, estimates a 5 MW plant could be built for around €10 million, producing some 20 GWh per year….[FSC argues that 3% of Earth’s desert] and 1%-efficient solar aero-electric power plants…can produce 50% of [world electricity in 2050]…

"But first the concept will have to win over sceptics, including many in the investor and analyst communities…[They say solar updraft towers] are inefficient, take up a lot of land..[are] not cost-effective…[have investor-detering] long lead times…[and] might lose out to more conventional projects, such as photovoltaic arrays…"

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Solar Energy Vs Solar Power

The terms solar power and solar energy are used interchangeably, however the terms have different definitions. Solar Energy is utilizing the radiant energy from the Sun. Solar Power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either by photovoltaics and concentrating solar thermal devices, or the utilization of thermoelectric converters, solar chimneys or solar ponds. (some of the latter are experimental) When we consider building design, solar energy (and shading) are considerations. In order to conserve heat that the Sun delivers, thermal mass is used.

Optimization of the light in buildings is called a 'Daylighting' technique. Solar water heaters are used in many applications including swimming pools and domestic hot water. Farmers use greenhouses to lengthen the growing seasons, as well as pumps that derive power from solar cells (photovoltaics) in order to move water for grazing animals. In order to harvest salt, as well as clean waste streams, evaporation ponds are used. In order to increase the supply of potable (drinking, cooking etc.) water, solar distillation and disinfection methods provide water for a great many people around the world. There are many simple uses for this renewable energy and the prospect for a great deal more.

Consider solar chimneys or solar towers, this technology is experimental, however if we lobby our elected officials we can get them to fund these options and they can be up and running in a very short time. These solar updraft towers (solar chimneys or towers) consist of large greenhouses that funnel into a central tower. Sunlight then shines on the greenhouse, and the inside air is heated and it expands. The expanding air flows into the central tower, where a turbine converts the air flow into electricity. This technology is not difficult to put into use, it will simply cost money. Sadly, it won't cost a lot of money but it is more than our elected officials have earmarked for renewable energy. The number of new jobs that pursuing this technology would create would offset the cost and put a lot of unemployed people back to work.

There are even ways of harnessing solar power from space. Space solar power systems would use a solar array in geosynchronous orbit to collect the sunlight and then it would beam this energy as microwaves to receivers set up on Earth for distribution. Once again this concept is still experimental, however it could deliver power close to 100% of the time. We simply have to pursue this concept and get it to a workable point.

The story is, now we have to get serious about the alternatives, as there will soon be no choice. We are destroying our environment, natural habitats are polluted to the point that some creatures are approaching extinction. Take a look at frogs, many species are already extinct and this is no small matter. We depend on these amphibians to eat insects from swamps that are dangerous to humans. Soon we will face threats from diseases right here in the U.S., like malaria that we had long forgotten. We have to embrace renewable, alternative energy now. Fossil fuels are destroying us, both financially and physically. Global warming, rampant pollution and the depletion of those fossil fuels will bring about our demise if we don't act now.

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What is a Stirling Engine and How Does it Work?

Model Stirling engines are fascinating and fun to build...but they can be difficult to understand. If you're interested in model Stirling engines but aren't sure exactly what they are (or why they're so great), this article will answer some of your questions.

The Stirling engine is named for its inventor, Robert Stirling. It is a closed-cycle regenerative heat engine. It works by cyclically compressing and expanding air or other gas (known as the working fluid) at different temperature levels. The heat energy produced makes the engine run.

A Stirling engine is an external combustion engine, like a steam engine. This means that all of the engine's heat goes in and out through the wall of the engine, from an external heat source. But unlike a steam engine, which uses water in both liquid and gas form, Stirling engines use only the gas forms of liquids such as hydrogen, helium or oxygen. This working fluid is compressed, heated, expanded, and then cooled again in an ongoing cycle.

Stirling engines contain a fixed amount of working fluid. The engine is sealed, so none of the gas leaves the engine, and none enters from outside. When you have a fixed amount of gas in a fixed amount of space, raising the temperature of the gas will increase its pressure. If you compress the gas, its temperature will go up.

The gas is moved back and forth between hot and cold heat exchangers. To put it simply, a basic Stirling engine works like this:

1. A hot heat exchanger (a heated cylinder) is exposed to an external heat source, which then heats the gas in that cylinder and causes the pressure of the gas to increase. This increased pressure makes the piston in the heated cylinder move down and do work.

2. The piston on the other side moves up as the other moves down, and this then pushes the heated gas into the cold heat exchanger, or cold cylinder. The cold cylinder is cooled by the ambient temperature of the surrounding environment or by an external source of cold. As the gas cools, its pressure is lowered and it becomes easier to compress.

3. The piston in the cold cylinder then moves down and compresses the cooled gas. Any heat generated by the compression is removed by the cooling source (known as the heat sink).

4. The piston in the heating cylinder moves up, and gas is forced back in to the heated cylinder. As it heats up the pressure increases, the piston moves down, and the cycle repeats over and over.

Usually a regenerator is placed in between the heated area and the cooling area. This acts as a heat store and increases the engines efficiency by retaining and recycling the heat that passes through the engine, rather than allowing it to diminish.

This is a basic overview of how Stirling engines work. There are many different types and models, but they all work according to the same theory. Model Stirling engines can be very simple, or more complex...but as long as you have a heat source, a hot air and a cool air exchanger and a heat sink and of course, all the parts, they will work.

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