Steam Power

Another day cleaning up after the big storm- seems wherever I go, I bring storms with me. When I was born, it was during a tremendous snowstorm. Now, I get to Lawton and it seems bring destruction in my wake. But the town is recovering. We finally figured out that the bigger the vehicle, the more hauling capacity it has. We took larger trucks out today, the rationale being that they would cut down on time spent waiting in line at the dump when we go to haul all this stuff away. The dump has several JCBs there with big claw attachments, so they can unload our trucks faster and more efficiently. This turned out to be a tremendous help, as we were able to get much more done much faster.
But it also reminded me of an idea that I had, but could never figure out a practical application for- steam power. I figured it would provide a viable solution to fossil fuels, as really the only given you need is a source of steam, and that can be provided by any source of heat- although comparatively somewhat larger than an internal combustion engine, the power increases exponentially with size. So we would be looking at something about the size of a large pickup truck with more than adequate capacity to run at the same rate as a modern-day car. Besides, it would look so darn cool!
Enter steampunk, a word I had first encountered due to an interest in steam power. Steampunk is more a genre of fashion, art and literature than anything else, kind of a neo-Victorian movement. Strange, but true. I, however, was more interested in the technology aspect of it, which is somewhat lacking. There are people equally obsessed with steam power, such as www.crabfu.com , which has produced bizarre but fun steam-powered robots. Could this be the future of modern energy? There are more than enough renewable and clean sources of steam power, although the original steam engines ran on coal, which was far from clean. Also, for a good view of steampunk, check out a great movie called Steam. How original. But at any rate, it's kind of an alternate history where steam power is the norm, and carries a strong anti-Cold War sentiment. Worth a look, even if you don't like animation.
So what does all this have to do with steam cars? Well, I'm certain from flights of imagination, great things have come and will continue to come. Remember, every great idea was once someone's crazy idea. I lack the parts and resources to build a steam engine, but certainly have grasped the how of it- simple, really. Basically what you have is the energy of steam expansion driving a piston mechanism. The rest is pretty much dependent on what you need driven. The mechanism by which this is done is basically a two-step valve, much like a gasoline engine. But I'll keep on tinkering, who knows? Many great discoveries have been made by accident. Don't worry, I won't quit my day job though.