SMALLEST PETROL ENGINE SCIENTISTS have built the smallest petrol engine, tiny enough to power a WATCH. The mini-motor, which runs for two years on a single squirt of lighter fuel, is set to revolutionize world technology. It produces 700 times more energy than a conventional battery despite being less than a centimeter long (Not even half an inch!). It could be used to operate laptops and mobile phones for months doing away with the need for recharging. Experts believe it could be phasing out batteries in such items within just six years. The engine, minute enough to be balanced on a fingertip, has been produced by engineers at the University of Birmingham . Dr Kyle Jiang, lead investigator from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, said: “We are looking at an industrial revolution happening in peoples’ pockets. The breakthrough is an enormous step forward. Devices which need re- charging or new batteries are a problem but in six years will be a thing of the past..” Other applications for the engine could include medical and military uses, such as running heart pacemakers or mini reconnaissance robots. At present, charging an ordinary battery to deliver one unit of energy involves putting 2,000 units into it. The little engine, because energy is produced locally, is far more effective.. One of the main problems faced by engineers who have tried to produce micro motors in the past has been the levels of heat produced. The engines got so hot they burned themselves out and could not be re-used. The Birmingham team overcame this by using heat-resistant materials such as ceramic and silicon carbide. Professor Graham Davies, head of the university’s engineering school, said: “we've brought together all the engineering disciplines, materials, chemical engineering, civil engineering, and mechanical engineering. What better place to have the second industrial revolution in nano-technology than where the first took place, in the heart of the West Midlands.
BTUs are still BTUs, and the BTUs from a "Squirt" of Lighter Fluid, is STILL the limiting Factor of ANY such device. This Dude is mixing his Units, and Energy conversions, Terribly, I might say, when he says "700 times more energy than a conventional battery " and doesn't give the equivalent, in either INPUT BTUs, or OZs of Lighter Fluid, required to give this amazing amount of said Energy.... There is NO Free Lunch......
Without a current link, I'm not going to bother looking much further for now. But a couple things come to mind. For example, I think I might not want to put that in my pocket, since an engine has exhaust that might just toast my thigh. Also, I wonder how the engine could keep running in the absence of air as might be found in a tight fitting pair of jeans. Granted, there could very well be some advances in metallurgy and ceramics that might allow that level of miniaturization, but somehow I don't think it is close to commercialization in that size range. I've been wrong before --- \ Here's an article that addresses the subject. - Is the following article on the worlds smallest engine a fraud? - Yahoo! Answers Note that the article is two years old.
Yup, I'm not buying it. I don't think it's real. It's a very cool idea though, and I wish it were possible.
Powering a heart's Pacemaker? that would be a little hard without OXY. though a a mini motor watch might just lead to a hot time after all.... though a mini-motor pocket watch, might just lead to a pair of new pants.