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How to I make my happy drinking bird work better?

My happy drinking bird is very slow. How can I make my happy drinking bird drink water from the glass faster. I try adjusting the bird and it just gets worse.

Public Comments

1. The drinking bird is basically a heat engine that exploits a temperature differential to convert heat energy to kinetic energy and perform mechanical work. Like all heat engines, the drinking bird works through a thermodynamic cycle. The initial state of the system is a bird with a wet head oriented vertically with an initial oscillation on its pivot. The cycle operates as follows: The water evaporates from the head (Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution) Evaporation lowers the temperature of the glass head (heat of vaporization) The temperature drop causes some of the dichloromethane vapor in the head to condense The lower temperature and condensation together cause the pressure to drop in the head (ideal gas law) The pressure differential between the head and base causes the liquid to be pushed up from the base. As liquid flows into the head, the bird becomes top heavy and tips over during its oscillations. When the bird tips over, the bottom end of the neck tube rises above the surface of the liquid. A bubble of vapor rises up the tube through this gap, displacing liquid as it goes Liquid flows back to the bottom bulb, and vapor pressure equalizes between the top and bottom bulbs The weight of the liquid in the bottom bulb restores the bird to its vertical position If a glass of water is placed so that the beak dips into it on its descent, the bird will continue to absorb water and the cycle will continue as long as there is enough water in the glass to keep the head wet. However, the bird will continue to dip even without a source of water, as long as the head is wet, or as long as a temperature differential is maintained between the head and body. This differential can be generated without evaporative cooling in the head -- for instance, a heat source directed at the bottom bulb will create a pressure differential between top and bottom that will drive the engine. The ultimate source of energy is heat in the surrounding environment -- the toy is not a perpetual motion machine. Therefore, you can't make it go faster. You can perhaps try a warmer temperater.