---
title: "The World’s Smallest Engine is the Same Size as a Single Ion"
description: "A team of physicists at Trinity College Dublin have build what they claim is the world's smallest engine. And it's only the size of a single calcium ion."
date: "2019-08-21"
modified: "2019-08-21"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/worlds-smallest-engine-ion"
categories:
  - "Physics"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "atomic physics"
  - "Engine"
  - "quantum"
  - "the digest"
---

# The World’s Smallest Engine is the Same Size as a Single Ion

![A team of physicists at Trinity College Dublin have build what they claim is the world's smallest engine. And it's only the size of a single calcium ion.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/worlds-smallest-engine-ion.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Trinity College Dublin\</em\>*

## Atomic Engine

It's not like the one in your car, but a team of physicists at Trinity College Dublin have built what they claim is the world's smallest engine. The engine is the size of a single calcium ion — about ten billion times smaller than an automobile engine.

Rather than powering your next road trip, the atomic engine could one day be used to lay the foundation for extraordinary, futuristic nanotechnologies.

## Quantum Realm

Here's how it works: the calcium ion holds an electrical charge, which makes it spin. This angular momentum is then used to convert heat from a laser beam into vibrations.

In turn, these vibrations act like a "flywheel" — a mechanical device that is able to store rotational energy.

## Single Atom

"The flywheel allows us to actually measure the power output of an atomic-scale motor, resolving single \[quantum-scale unit\] of energy, for the first time," Mark Mitchison, co-author of the article published in the journal *Physical Review Letters* today, said in [a statement](<https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/tcd-pcw082119.php>).

A [similar](<https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a10068/the-worlds-smallest-engine-runs-on-a-single-atom-16451781/>) calcium ion engine was put together by a team of German physicists in 2014 — a machine that uses only a single atom to run.

**READ MORE:** P[hysicists create world's smallest engine](<https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/tcd-pcw082119.php>) \[Trinity College Dublin\]

**More on tiny engines:** *[Cambridge Makes World's Smallest Engine, And It's Tiny Enough to Enter Cells](<https://futurism.com/cambridge-makes-worlds-smallest-engine-tiny-enough-enter-cells>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)