Drinking Bird

A fun demonstration of a thermal engine! Classes Used: PHYS 153

condensation, expansion, Rankine cycle

Useful Links: How Stuff Works provides a great description of how these birds function. Updated on: 06/19/13

A fun demonstration of a thermal engine (Rankine cycle)

Drinking bird, beaker of warm water

Wet cloth which covers the tube in the bird and set up the bird with a beaker in front of it. The gas in the bird, which consists of various organic fluids, will condense causing the bird to “drink”. The water cools and reverses the condensation process and the bird settles back down.