A nuclear power plant uses the heat from the nuclear reaction to produce steam and drive a steam engine, while a gas turbine in a rocket engine may be driven by decomposing hydrogen peroxide. These engines convert heat from noncombustive processes into mechanical work. The engine is frequently designed similarly to an internal combustion engine or an external combustion engine, with the exception of the different energy source.

Thermoacoustic heat engines, also known as “TA engines,” are thermoacoustic devices that either use a heat difference to generate high-amplitude sound waves or use high-amplitude sound waves to transfer heat from one location to another. Standing wave and traveling wave devices are the two main types of thermoacoustic engines.

The engine’s hot area can be warmed by any external source because the heat comes from outside. Similarly, an external heat sink, such as air flow or running water, can maintain the engine’s cooler section. The engine keeps the gas indefinitely, making it possible to use the gas with the best properties, like hydrogen or helium. There are no admission and no fumes gas streams so the machine is for all intents and purposes quiet.

Because the machine can be turned around, there will be a temperature difference throughout the machine if the shaft is turned by an external power source; As a result, it functions as a heat pump.
After undergoing a number of alterations, the first engine of this kind was successfully constructed and heated. It had a cylinder with a diameter of 30 centimeters (12 inches), a stroke length of 60 centimeters (2 feet), and 40 revolutions per minute (40 rpm).

This engine was previously found to be capable of raising 320,000 kg (700,000 lbs) 60 cm (2 ft) in a minute, with a power of approximately 16 kilowatts (21 horsepower), and it moved all of the machinery at the Dundee Foundry Company’s works for eight or ten months.