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A Thermo-Acoustic Resonator (TAR) is a miniature thermoacoustic heat pump and thermal-electric generator that is typically imbedded in a thermoplastic or metal package. The TAR converts a thermal gradient into electrical energy. It can range in size from that of a microchip, upward. The operable pri

A Thermo-Acoustic Resonator (TAR) is a miniature thermoacoustic heat pump and thermal-electric generator that is typically imbedded in a thermoplastic or metal package. The TAR converts a thermal gradient into electrical energy. It can range in size from that of a microchip, upward. The operable principle is that sensible and latent heat in a material can be pumped most efficiently when pumped at intervals that are resonant with the natural period of the material at a given temperature, thereby increasing the energy density of the thermoacoustic engine. The normal period of the device is tailored to produce thermodynamic oscillation in the heat exchangers and working fluid, and thereby to cause a miniature armature to reciprocate within a magnetic field and generate alternating current. Power output depends on the amplitude and frequency of the thermal gradient, and the tailored energy flow rate through the device.

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1. A miniature heat engine comprising:a) a thermally conductive envelopment means including a housing for containing a compressible working fluid, b) said compressible working fluid being capable of supporting propagation of periodic acoustical traveling waves, c) a first heat exchange means for add

1. A miniature heat engine comprising:a) a thermally conductive envelopment means including a housing for containing a compressible working fluid, b) said compressible working fluid being capable of supporting propagation of periodic acoustical traveling waves, c) a first heat exchange means for adding thermal energy to the working fluid in one section of the housing, d) a second heat exchange means for removing thermal energy from the working fluid in another section of the housing, e) a thermal insulating means comprising an intermediate substrate dividing said first and second heat exchange means, and for mounting component parts of the miniature heat engine, f) an acoustical traveling wave generating means for causing periodic acoustical traveling waves to propagate on a path through the working fluid in communication between said first and second heat exchange means, g) an acoustic wave guiding means, a wave-guide, contiguous with the acoustical traveling wave generating means and integral with the geometry of working fluid passages in the thermal insulating means and said first heat exchange means, by means of which the periodic acoustical traveling waves are vectored, thermally amplified, and acoustic-impedance-controlled, h) an energy conversion means for converting the acoustical energy produced by said miniature heat engine into other forms of electrical and mechanical energy, i) an inertance means, comprised of a planar baffle, for reducing the local propagation velocity of the acoustic traveling wave, and increasing the pressure gradient decay period during which energy is extracted from the working fluid by the energy conversion means and said second heat exchange means, j) a metering means for causing the admittance of cooler working fluid from said second heat exchange means, through the energy conversion means, into the acoustical traveling wave generating means, thereby completing an acoustic and thermodynamic circuit in the working fluid.