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, UK . Dr. Y 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.
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