Planet Mechanics

Solar Paella (1x4)

: 27, 2008

In an area known as the ‘frying pan of Spain’, Dick and Jem head to Andalucía in their eco-friendly workshop to help one farmer pump enough water from his well to sustain his cattle. Dick and Jem devise radically different solutions to farmer Jesus’ water problem – Dick harnesses wind power using a traditional windmill pump while Jem pushes his inventive boundaries to the limit with a Stirling engine. But, ambitious Jem may have bitten off more than he can chew, by also volunteering to build a massive solar cooker to make enough paella for an entire crowd at the annual Andalucían festival. While Dick sails along creating his windmill, Jem struggles to pull together a Stirling engine, which uses temperature differences inside a cylinder to move a piston, which can then be used to power machinery – in Jem’s case working a pump to draw water from the well. Will Jem’s ingenuity pay off or will the tried and true windmill pump win out? And, more importantly, can either of these two engineers cook well enough to please the audience with their traditional Spanish paella?