Guest_Jim_* Posted April 20, 2016 Posted April 20, 2016 Heat engines have been around for a long time and are used to convert thermal energy into mechanical force. Now thanks to researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University, a single atom has been turned into a heat engine, which could have applications for studying thermodynamics and quantum thermodynamics. The core of this heat engine is a single calcium atom that has been electrically charged to be held in a trap. It can then be heated with electrically-generated noise and cooled with a laser beam, which results in it going through a thermodynamic cycle. That means the atom moves back and forth within the trap, just like the strokes of a heat engine. While the single atom only generates 10-22 watts at 0.3% efficiency, scaling the engine up to match the mass of a car engine, the output would be comparable. Chances this design will not be used to actually generate power, but instead be used to study the thermodynamics of single-particles and if the operating temperatures can be lowered sufficiently, it could become a window to thermodynamic quantum effects. It is also possible to reverse the cycle to make it a single-atom refrigerator for cooling nanosystems. Source: Johannes Gutenberg University Back to original news post Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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