The Little Engine That Could Be

The development of a fuel-powered miniature engine, touted as a more efficient and longer lasting alternative for the battery, may push the Energizer Bunny to the unemployment lines.

No bigger than a regular shirt button, the micro gas turbine engine uses the same process for producing electricity as its big brother electricity stations — burning fuel and running it through a power plant.

“Fuel and air in, and electricity out,” said Luc Frechette, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University and one of the team members building the engine.