# Smallest petral Engine



## DanP (Jun 4, 2013)

I don't know if you have seen this or not but first time for me. Sent from a friend in England.

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.


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## Herbiev (Jun 4, 2013)

I'd love one for my digital calipers. It eats batteries.


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## aonemarine (Jun 4, 2013)

Anothe polish 4 stroke??


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## Cogsy (Jun 4, 2013)

aonemarine said:


> Anothe polish 4 stroke??


 
It does sound too good to be true, but I have seen the complete article and it shows the current record holder of a Wankel rotary approx. twice the size of this motor, with pretty amazing stats.

At the end of the article there was a shot from an electron microscope showing the smallest working nanotech steam engine. From memory it was around 20 microns across... completely unrecognisable as a conventional motor of course.


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## aonemarine (Jun 5, 2013)

Cogsy said:


> It does sound too good to be true, but I have seen the complete article and it shows the current record holder of a Wankel rotary approx. twice the size of this motor, with pretty amazing stats.
> 
> At the end of the article there was a shot from an electron microscope showing the smallest working nanotech steam engine. From memory it was around 20 microns across... completely unrecognisable as a conventional motor of course.


 
LOL  electric start I hope


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## keith5700 (Jun 5, 2013)

Haha! That's pretty cool. Normally I can spot a hoax straight away, but this had me believing it for almost a minute.


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## Cogsy (Jun 5, 2013)

keith5700 said:


> Haha! That's pretty cool. Normally I can spot a hoax straight away, but this had me believing it for almost a minute.


 
I think the figures given may have been a bit 'optimistic' but supposedly this thing is real. Here's a link to the university's webpage about this engine and the wankel I mentioned. The nano steam engine is by a different institute at this link.


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## BronxFigs (Jun 5, 2013)

Amazing image.  But do you think before the photo shoot, they could've dropped twenty bucks and sprung for a manicure?  Is that a disgusting toe, or, a disgusting finger?


Frank


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## Septic (Jun 5, 2013)

Rof}April the first strikes again..


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## aarggh (Jun 5, 2013)

Herbiev said:


> I'd love one for my digital calipers. It eats batteries.



That's funny, I swear my kids do too! When I buy batteries I need to buy them in bulk they disappear so fast!

cheers, Ian


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## Lakc (Jun 5, 2013)

BronxFigs said:


> Amazing image.  But do you think before the photo shoot, they could've dropped twenty bucks and sprung for a manicure?  Is that a disgusting toe, or, a disgusting finger?
> 
> 
> Frank


Yep, with the typical university budget they could have sprung for a hand model...

I think the 2000:1 figure they quote is probably "selective". Its almost like they are measuring the solar energy across the ocean to evaporate the water that falls as rain above the dam...


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## Bruce R. (Feb 4, 2020)

Can you picture filling your cell phone with lighter fluid ?  Regular or unleaded ?


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## Cymro77 (Feb 5, 2020)

Now how are you to pull the other leg?????


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## Longboy (May 27, 2020)

The Guvment gonna screw up this tech idea when they notify you to take your watch to the jeweler for a yearly emissions test.


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