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Micropower describes the work that researchers at several universities are doing to develop very small electric generators and prime movers or devices to convert heat or motion to electricity, for use close to the generator.〔() MSN Encarta dictionary. Retrieved November 10, 2010〕 These devices offer the promise of a power source for portable electronic devices which is lighter weight and has a longer operating time than batteries. Micropower differs from microgeneration in being concerned with universities, mobility and milliwatts or watts rather than individuals, homes and kilowatts. ==Microturbine technology== The components of any turbine engine :— the gas compressor, the combustion chamber, and the turbine rotor :— are fabricated from etched silicon, much like integrated circuits. The technology holds the promise of ten times the operating time of a battery of the same weight as the micropower unit, and similar efficiency to large utility gas turbines. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have thus far succeeded in fabricating the parts for such a micro turbine out of six etched and stacked silicon wafers, and are working toward combining them into a functioning engine about the size of a U.S. quarter coin.〔() “Engine on a chip promises to best the battery,” ScienceDaily, viewed 9/20/2006〕 Researchers at Georgia Tech have built a micro generator 10 mm wide, which spins a magnet above an array of coils fabricated on a silicon chip. The device spins at 100,000 revolutions per minute, and produces 1.1 watts of electrical power, sufficient to operate a cell phone. Their goal is to produce 20 to 50 watts, sufficient to power a laptop computer.〔() “Georgia Tech microgenerator can power electronics,” ScienceDaily, 1/25/2005, viewed 9/20/2006.〕 Scientists at Lehigh University are developing a hydrogen generator on a silicon chip that can convert methanol, diesel, or gasoline into fuel for a microengine or a miniature fuel cell.〔() “Power plant on a chip? It’s no small matter to Lehigh scientists,” ScienceDaily, 9/24/2001, viewed 9/20/2006〕 Professor Sanjeev Mukerjee of Northeastern University's chemistry department is developing fuel cells for the military that will burn hydrogen to power portable electronic equipment, such as night vision goggles, computers, and communication equipment. In his system, a cartridge of methanol would be used to produce hydrogen to run a small fuel cell for up to 5,000 hours. It would be lighter than rechargeable batteries needed to provide the same power output, with a longer run time. Similar technology could be improved and expanded in future years to power automobiles.〔() "Military Looks To Northeastern Professor For A Future Powered By Fuel Cells." ScienceDaily, April 22, 2004, Source: Northeastern University. retrieved Jan. 24, 2007〕 The National Academies' National Research Council recommended in a 2004 report that the U.S. Army should investigate such micropower sources for powering electronic equipment to be carried by soldiers in the future, since batteries sufficient to power the computers, sensors, and communications devices would add considerable weight to the burden of infantry soldiers.〔() “New power sources needed for soldier of the future,” ScienceDaily, 9/13/2004, viewed 9/20/2006〕 The Future Warrior Concept of the U.S. Army envisions a 2- to 20-watt micro turbine fueled by a liquid hydrocarbon being used to power communications and wearable heating/cooling equipment for up to six days on 10 ounces of fuel.〔() U.S. Armay Natick Soldier Research, "Future Warrior Concept." retrieved June 20, 2007〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Micropower」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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