Resource letter: TA-1: Thermoacoustic engines and refrigerators

This Resource Letter provides an annotated guide to some of the literature pertaining to the understanding of thermoacoustic engines and refrigerators. These devices incorporate acoustical components and networks to produce mechanical power or to pump heat, or both, without the use of traditional mechanical contrivances such as pistons, linkages, and valves. To bring some order to this research and the variety of thermoacoustic engines and refrigerators produced over the past two decades, these devices also are classified as stack-based and regenerator-based. The background and motivation for this organizational structure is provided in the introduction. (C) 2004 American Association of Physics Teachers.