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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 1: Engine-Powered Laptops

Gas-turbine engines power helicopters, tanks, and ships. These gigantic engines may be the new power source for laptops. Of course, the engine would have to be very small to work in a laptop. Researchers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have found a way to create tiny engines.

Tiny engines cannot be made from metal. MIT’s plan is for an engine on a silicon chip. This means the entire engine will be about the size of a quarter! Metal parts cannot be crafted that size, so this microengine is made from etched silicon wafers. Just like computer chips, silicon wafers are thin and strong, so six of them together are durable enough to make an engine.

According to MIT, the researchers hope to have the microengine completed by the end of the year. Cell phones and laptops currently use batteries that last a few hours; this microengine would last 15 years or more. Can you imagine 15 years without having to plug in your computer?

--Written by Katheryn Troyer

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