尤物视频

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World’s fastest information-fuelled engine designed by SFU researchers

May 11, 2021
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尤物视频 researchers have designed a remarkably fast engine that taps into a new kind of fuel 鈥 information.

The development of this engine, which converts the random jiggling of a microscopic particle into stored energy, is outlined in research published this week in the  (PNAS) and could lead to significant advances in the speed and cost of computers and bio-nanotechnologies.

SFU physics professor and senior author John Bechhoefer says researchers鈥 understanding of how to rapidly and efficiently convert information into 鈥渨ork鈥 may inform the design and creation of real-world information engines.鈥ㄢ

鈥淲e wanted to find out how fast an information engine can go and how much energy it can extract, so we made one,鈥 says Bechhoefer, whose experimental group collaborated with theorists led by SFU physics professor David Sivak.

Engines of this type were first proposed over 150 years ago but actually making them has only recently become possible. 

鈥淏y systematically studying this engine, and choosing the right system characteristics, we have pushed its capabilities over ten times farther than other similar implementations, thus making it the current best-in-class,鈥 says Sivak. 

The information engine designed by SFU researchers consists of a microscopic particle immersed in water and attached to a spring which, itself, is fixed to a movable stage. Researchers then observe the particle bouncing up and down due to thermal motion.

鈥淲hen we see an upward bounce, we move the stage up in response,鈥 explains lead author and PhD student Tushar Saha. 鈥淲hen we see a downward bounce, we wait. This ends up lifting the entire system using only information about the particle鈥檚 position.鈥

Repeating this procedure, they raise the particle 鈥渁 great height, and thus store a significant amount of gravitational energy,鈥 without having to directly pull on the particle.

Saha further explains that, 鈥渋n the lab, we implement this engine with an instrument known as an optical trap, which uses a laser to create a force on the particle that mimics that of the spring and stage.鈥濃ㄢ

Joseph Lucero, a Master of Science student adds, 鈥渋n our theoretical analysis, we find an interesting trade-off between the particle mass and the average time for the particle to bounce up. While heavier particles can store more gravitational energy, they generally also take longer to move up.鈥濃ㄢ

鈥淕uided by this insight, we picked the particle mass and other engine properties to maximize how fast the engine extracts energy, outperforming previous designs and achieving power comparable to molecular machinery in living cells, and speeds comparable to fast-swimming bacteria,鈥 says postdoctoral fellow Jannik Ehrich.

AVAILABLE SFU EXPERTS

JOHN BECHHOEFER, professor, physics | johnb@sfu.ca

DAVID SIVAK, associate professor, physics | dsivak@sfu.ca  

CONTACT

MATT KIELTYKA,  SFU Communications & Marketing 
236.880.2187 | matt_kieltyka@sfu.ca

 

尤物视频 
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778.782.3210

ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

As Canada鈥檚 engaged university, SFU works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today鈥檚 problems. With campuses in British Columbia鈥檚 three largest cities鈥擵ancouver, Burnaby and Surrey鈥擲FU has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 127 graduate degree programs to more than 37,000 students. The university now boasts more than 165,000 alumni residing in 143 countries.