According to a bunch of German physicists, they claim to have successfully developed a heat engine that measures all of just a few micrometers across, and even more remarkable is the claimed fact that this particular heat engine will still function in its normal capacity, similar to that of a standard-sized version. Of course, the challenges that come at such a minuscule size would also mean that this tiny steam engine will sputter from time to time. Theoretically speaking, nothing ought to prevent the construction of highly efficient, small heat engines down the road, but as we all know, things in theory rarely turn out as they would in real life.
According to Clemens Bechinger of the University of Stuttgart, “We’ve developed the world’s smallest steam engine, or to be more precise the smallest Stirling engine, and found that the machine really does perform work. This was not necessarily to be expected, because the machine is so small that its motion is hindered by microscopic processes which are of no consequence in the macroworld.” Hopefully the researchers will be able to weed out issues that cause it to run rough and sputter for a more efficient engine down the road.
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