Claims
- 1. An apparatus comprising:
- a stator including an inner wall, the inner wall defining a plurality of collider chambers;
- a plurality of fluid inlets, each of the fluid inlets being coupled to a corresponding one of the collider chambers, each of the fluid inlets selectively permitting fluid to flow into its corresponding collider chamber;
- a plurality of fluid outlets, each of the fluid outlets being coupled to a corresponding one of the collider chambers, each of the fluid outlets selectively permitting fluid to flow out of its corresponding collider chamber;
- a rotor disposed for rotation, an outer wall of the rotor being proximal to the inner wall of the stator, rotation of the rotor in a first direction causing fluid in each of the collider chambers to rotate in a second direction opposite to the first direction.
- 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of inlet valves, each of the inlet valves being connected to a corresponding one of the fluid inlets.
- 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a plurality of outlet valves, each of the outlet valves being connected to a corresponding one of the fluid outlets.
- 4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the collider chambers is characterized by a radius smaller than a radius of the rotor.
- 5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein rotation of the rotor causes fluid to move in the collider chambers so that molecules of the fluid repeatedly collide with one another thereby generating heat and vaporizing at least some of the fluid in the collider chambers.
- 6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the vaporized fluid forms a cyclone shaped region in at least one of the collider chambers.
- 7. An apparatus according to claim 5, further including means for removing at least some of the vaporized fluid.
- 8. An apparatus according to claim 7, further including means for condensing at least some of the vaporized fluid removed by the means for removing.
- 9. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotor is characterized by a cylindrical shape.
- 10. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotor includes a top portion characterized by a top diameter, a bottom portion characterized by a bottom diameter, and a middle portion characterized by a middle diameter, the middle diameter being smaller than the top diameter, the middle diameter being smaller than the bottom diameter.
- 11. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotor includes a top portion characterized by a top diameter, a bottom portion characterized by a bottom diameter, and a middle portion characterized by a middle diameter, the middle diameter being larger than the top diameter, the middle portion being larger than the bottom diameter.
- 12. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the fluid inlets intersects its corresponding collider chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation for the rotor.
- 13. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the fluid outlets intersects its corresponding collider chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation for the rotor.
- 14. An apparatus according to claim 1, the rotor being disposed for rotation about an axis, a cross-section of the rotor taken at any point along the axis being substantially circular.
- 15. An apparatus according to claim 1, further including a first manifold connecting to all of the fluid inlets and a second manifold connecting to all of the fluid outlets.
- 16. An apparatus comprising:
- a stator including an inner wall, the inner wall defining a plurality of collider chambers;
- a rotor disposed for rotation about an axis, an outer wall of the rotor being proximal to the inner wall of the stator, a cross-section of the rotor taken at any point along the axis being substantially circular;
- a plurality of fluid inlets, each of the fluid inlets extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis from outside the stator through the stator and into a corresponding one of the collider chambers, each of the fluid inlets permitting fluid to flow into its corresponding collider chamber;
- a plurality of fluid outlets, each of the fluid outlets extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis from outside the stator through the stator and into a corresponding one of the collider chambers, each of the fluid outlets permitting fluid to flow out of its is corresponding collider chamber.
- 17. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the rotor includes a top portion characterized by a top diameter, a bottom portion characterized by a bottom diameter, and a middle portion characterized by a middle diameter, the middle diameter being smaller than the top diameter, the middle diameter being smaller than the bottom diameter, the fluid inlets entering the collider chambers proximal the middle portion, the fluid outlets entering the collider chambers proximal the top and bottom portions, rotation of the rotor causing fluid to move from the fluid inlets through the collider chambers to the fluid outlets.
- 18. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the rotor includes a top portion characterized by a top diameter, a bottom portion characterized by a bottom diameter, and a middle portion characterized by a middle diameter, the middle diameter being larger than the top diameter, the middle diameter being larger than the bottom diameter, the fluid inlets entering the collider chambers proximal the top and bottom portions, the fluid outlets entering the collider chambers proximal the middle portion, rotation of the rotor causing fluid to move from the fluid inlets through the collider chambers to the fluid outlets.
- 19. An apparatus according to claim 16, each of the collider chambers being characterized by a tear-drop shape.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a divisional of Ser. No. 09/090,121 filed on Jun. 4, 1998 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (22)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
090121 |
Jun 1998 |
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