The Manson engine is a hot air engine that was first described by A. D. Manson in the March 1952 issue of Newnes Practical Mechanics-Magazines.[1] Manson Engines can be started both ways (clockwise and anti-clockwise).[2] It has a stepped piston. The front part is acting as a displacer and the back part as work piston (displacer and piston move as a single component).[3][1] The engine only requires three moving parts (piston,[3] piston rod and crank).
The engine is double acting,[1] as it is using both the expansion of the warmed air and the contraction of cooling air to exploit work.[3][4][5]
The engine has no commercial or practical application. The engines are built mainly as desk toys, physics demonstrations, and novelties.[2]
