Patent ID: 7270475

Claim:
A thermoelastic device comprising an expansive element formed from a preselected material, said material being selected on the basis of ε, wherein εγ is a dimensionless constant for that material in accordance with the formula: ɛ ⁢ ⁢ γ = E ⁢ ⁢ γ 2 ⁢ T ρ ⁢ ⁢ C wherein E is the Young's modulus of the material; γ is the coefficient of thermal expansion; T is the maximum operating temperature, ρ is the density and C is the specific heat capacity, and the preselected material is selected from the group including silicides and carbides of titanium; borides, silicides, carbides and nitrides of tantalum, molybdenum, niobium, chromium, tungsten, vanadium, and zirconium.