World’s Hottest Engine Unveils Mysteries of Microscopic Physics

Rapid Summary

• A microscopic glass bead engine created by researchers at King’s College London operates with extreme thermodynamic behavior.
• the bead was levitated and manipulated in a nearly airless chamber using electric fields, simulating temperatures up too 10 million Kelvin-2000 times hotter than the sun’s surface-though it would feel cool to touch.
• It displayed unusual efficiency modes: some cycles exceeded expected energy outputs while others had negative efficiency, as if cooling instead of heating.
• These phenomena are attributed to its tiny size,where interactions with individual air particles affected operation and contradicted traditional thermodynamics at macroscopic levels.
• Researchers see parallels between these behaviors and biological systems at cellular scales, such as proteins or bacteria.
• While there are no immediate technological applications for this engine, the design may assist in understanding energy dynamics within natural systems and validating theories on microscopic physics.

Image Caption: An artist’s representation of the extreme engine (Millen lab).
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