Jet Engine on a Chip

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."

Fear...

[grub]

Engineers there shrunk jet engines to the size of a coat button

Naturally the Department of Homeland Security will declare that people with 4 or more buttons on their coat are 'terrorists'

exaust

[tubbtubb]

What about the exaust?
I can't wait to get kicked out of a snooty coffee shop because my dual core G5 laptop was asphyxiating the customers . . .

no kidding dept.

[lottameez]

While there are still a few hurdles to overcome...
Ya think?

gas powered calculator

[morcheeba]

There was a bit of calculator one-up-manship in some of my classes, so I always wanted to connect a little model airplane engine to a little generator and use it to power my calculator during exams. Besides the roar of the non-mufflered engine (dropping in RPMs during every keypress as it consumes more power), there would be the smell half-burnt gas coming out of that little two-stroke. The intimidation factor alone would have skewed the curve in my direction.

So, wow, my silly dreams could become reality!

Re:Yeah, uhm, wait what?

[wertarbyte]

Also, is it going to make that jet engine noise?

Can't be worse than those low-cost P4 notebooks. Those fans can already be calles "turbine on a chip".

Runs on Fart Gas?

[zungu]

I read somewhere that farting releases methane. May be these micro-jet engines can be powered by far gas. On an airplane, the PDA can be inserted in a pocket on the seat and just a fart will power the PDA micro-jet ;-)

Geese

[Anonymous Coward]

Do these things still make a horrid mess when they accidentally suck geese in through the intake?

Real Beanie Jet Engine Hat

[Anonymous Coward]

If I can take 1000 of these microjets, I can convert my Beanie Propeller hat to a Beanie Jet Engine Hat and fly. Since this is posted freely and publicly, this can't be patented anymore.

Ready to take off
5
4
3
2
1

Where did my body go?

WhatMeWorry!

You also planning to use this excuse in elevators?

[StressGuy]

Beats blaming it on the dog I guess... :)

Units...

[melted keyboard]

"The engines on three 747s put out as much power as a nuclear power plant."

We need that expressed in a more useful unit of measure, such as burning libraries of congress.

Obvious joke

[SuperKendall]

"Hey, what is that?"

"WHAT?"

"I said, what is that"

"MY NEW JET-POWERED MP3 PLAYER"

"cool , what are you playing?"

"I'M NOT SURE"

Re:Just what we need...

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope to see a world where everything from my watch to my telephone is powered with good old Arab oil. Fuck nothing gets me hotter than imagining the day I get to pour a couple of gallons of Middle East crude into P4. A great discovery for all!

Re:What about pollution?

[mikael]

Hmmmmm, the last thing I would want to happen, is to go into a restaurant/bar/nightclub with a PDA in my trouser pocket, stand up, and have everyone notice there's a damp patch somewhere personal.

Terrorist apparel

[RealProgrammer]

I don't see the rationale for that, as long as they file a flight plan for their coat.

What's top speed for a London Fog?

Re:Roland Piquepaille

[Burgundy Advocate]

Holy. Shit. You're right! Slashdot search is working again!

Surely a sign of the apocolypse.

Re:Fear...

[doublem]

What kind of conspiracy theorist would I be if I let something as trivial as facts get in the way?

Sheesh.

Or at dinner...

[jpetts]

Beats blaming it on the dog I guess... :)

A guy goes to dinner with his girlfriend's family, and finds he is a bit windy about the arse. Anyway, he is sitting down at table, and the family dog is lying down behind his chair, so he figures he'll try a little experiment. So, he shifts his weight to his left cheek, and squeezes out a fairly quiet fart.

The mother looks up at the noise, and says "Baron!" (this being the dog's name). Encouraged, the guy lets out another one, quite a bit louder this time.

Again, the mother looks up, and exclaims "Baron!" in a more urgent tone.

By now the guy figures he's got carte blanche for whatever trouser stunts he wants to pull, so he let's rip with all his might, and lets one go that sounds like the curtains are being ripped in half!

At this, the mother stands up, panic-stricken, and shouts "Baron! Get away from that man before he shits all over you!"

Re:See same story from 1997

[One Louder]

They've been working on this since 1993, and in 1997 they said they'd have it working in three years. In 2004, they say they'll have it working in three years.

It sounds like their schedule will fit nicely with the Moller Skycar.

Re:exaust

[Anonymous Coward]

Which is quite good, as they don't let you run your car on a plane. But using your numbers, 20 or so people using laptops on a plane would be the same as someone running a car in the passenger cabin. That's not good.


No problem. Everyone who tried to get through security with a vial of gasoline/kerosine/ethanol missed the flight anyway.

If you pack volitile fuels in your carry on you might want to bring some vasiline too. Otherwise you are gonna be walking funny for a week.

Re:gas powered calculator

[Linker3000]

One of my friends at college (1981) had a solar powered scientific calculator. It was his pride and joy.

One term we had to do an extra maths test and it was scheduled for 7pm. It was winter and we were in an outbuilding with basic lighting.

My friend was some way into a complex calculation when the examiner, who had been walking around, passed by his desk, throwing his shadow over the calculator - the display gracefully faded as the calculator powered down. My friend jumped up uttering a burst of expletives and was nearly thrown out of the exam!

Priceless!

Re:Fear...

[uujjj]

Any Amish /.ers willing to back this up?

Re:Terrorist apparel

[Orne]

African, or European?

Re:exaust

[Anonymous Coward]

Now if we could only get one to burn Kerocosine then we'd be in business!

I think you meant kerosene.

Re:What about pollution?

[SpecBear]

Damp patch? You're worried about a damp patch??
I'd be more worried about having blades rotating a million times a minute right next to my genitals!

Re:1 million rpm?

[The 13th Duke]

This is your Captain speaking. It is time for our flight to change course. Please turn off all mobile phones, laptops and calculators so that we may carry out this manouevre. Thank you.

Re:Fear...

[ArsonSmith]

I have to post this anonymously otherwise the elders may read this and I'd get in trouble. Oh wait why would the elders be reading this?

Oh wait I'm not amish.

No, I'm New Here

[New Here]

No, I'm New Here

Re:Cool, but misleading title

[bwd234]

"That isn't the point. The heat being dissipated is, by definition, wasted energy (unless the user is in Siberia or something."

In Soviet Siberia the energy wastes you!