[Lab] pumping water with heat?

[Olaf Baumann]

I've just had an idea and I don't know if it would work.

I'm wondering if it is possible to circulate water in a closed system by
just heating or cooling.

Imagine a hula hoop standing vertically and filled with water.  If I apply
heat at the 3 o'clock position, would the water flow counter clockwise?
Then cool that same region to make it flow clockwise.

Part of me thinks that it's too simple of a contraption to work but I can't
think of any reason why it wouldn't.  Of course the 'pressure' or flow
would be quite small and I'd have to keep the temperature safely between
freezing and boiling to avoid ice jams and *explosions*.

Then I can cut at 7 and 11 o'clock and add a long hose that I can wrap
around my beer fermentation vessel inside of some insulation.  Add a
peltier effect heater/cooler at 3 o'clock along with a PID and thermometer
and I'd have a way to brew my beer with tightly controlled temperatures.
Target temperatures would be between 10°C and 25°C with a range one or two
degrees.

Probably a good idea to use some vinyl tubing instead so I don't ruin a
perfectly good hula hoop.

-- 
Olaf
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