Logan and Wendell: World's smallest petrol engine

Hey guys, so I saw this post about the worlds smallest engine and I'm wondering if it is I fact real ? If so what are your options on it ? It says it could me used to power laptops for months is this possible ?

https://plus.google.com/app/basic/stream/z12dftcyvvvqdxuj404cetmw0w3lszfayfw

needs 8 cylinders

Hmmm, I want to call hoax on this one. Although it is true we have gasoline powered single piston engines in the 20 cc displacment size, most of them do not have the thermal potential nor torque to power anything more than a small electric generator. Even then the engine must run at a very high RPM to maintain a stable engine firing pulse and it's torque is almost non-existent. Miniturized internal combustion engines don't scale very well with thermodynamics. In fact they get less efficient after a breaking point of about half a Liter displacement as compared to the amount of torque they can produce. A 50 cc scooter may very well get 90 MPG but it only has a 1 gallon fuel tank because the engine power cannot carry the frame of the vehicle, plus a passanger, and the fuel required to make distance any further than that without seeing diminishing returns.

 

story is from 2006