Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Jet Engine on a Chip

Posted by michael on from the go-go-gadget-jet-engine dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "Today, our handheld devices are powered by batteries, which are heavy and inconvenient. Fuel cells are just arriving on the market as a replacement. But there is a new contender: micro gas turbine engines under development at the MIT. Engineers there shrunk jet engines to the size of a coat button. And their blades which span an area smaller than a dime can spin a million times per minute and produce enough electricity to power your PDA or your cell phone. While there are still a few hurdles to overcome, these micro turbine engines should be operational in two or three years, with commercial products available four years from now. These micro jet engines also have the potential to free soldiers or travelers from carrying heavy batteries. The engineers even think their engines on a chip could be used in poor countries to bring electricity there. This summary gives you the essential details about a technology which promises to free us to carry extra fuel instead of batteries."

7 of 463 comments (clear)

  1. First Post! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    FRirewda POST!

  2. Isnt the current problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    More to do with the lack of fossil fuels, and their high cost?

    Wouldnt improved batteries be a better idea, or improved wind/hydro/nuclear power generation?

  3. miniature cows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    without skin.
    easily bioengineered.
    they produce lots of methane

    1)stuff cow with hay
    2)plug hose into cow
    3)use computer
    4)store engine heat via phase conversion (chemical)
    5)when cow has digested all hay slap him on the miniature grill (powered by stored heat) for lunch.
    6)need to do some more work, stuff another miniature cow with hay

    side benefit.
    fresh milk for your coffee instead of that soy based, lasts a millenium, make YOU fart milk substitute

  4. liquid fuel for your cellphone? by lone_knight · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    They just told us not to use our cellphones when fueling our cars... now they are telling us we will be pouring fuel into our cellphones? Sounds like a bad episode of Jackass to me.

    --
    Computers are useless. They can only give answers. --Pablo Picasso
  5. You should know the answer to that question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    No, he doesn't. He is not nearly as well-informed as he thinks, and the moderators have given him enough karma to broadcast his ignorance far and wide.

  6. accept! by chocolatetrumpet · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    If his content wasn't superior, /. wouldn't link to his blog.

    You need to just accept that this is how things are.

    I, for one, accept our new blogging overlord!

    p.s. dear mods, there is a difference between troll and funny. learn it.

    --
    Spoon not. Fork, or fork not. There is no spoon.
  7. Honey, I shrunk my PDA! by fyoory · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    What is the air speed velocity of an unlaiden PDA?