Scientists build record-breaking particle engine hotter than Sun's core

A team of scientists at King’s College London has developed the world’s smallest particle engine, known as a Paul Trap, which operates at temperatures exceeding those of the Sun’s core. This microscopic engine suspends a single particle using electrical fields and heats it by applying a noisy voltage to the electrodes. Unlike conventional engines designed to power machines, this device serves as a novel experimental platform to explore thermodynamics at the microscale. Remarkably, the engine exhibits behavior that sometimes contradicts classical thermodynamic laws, such as cooling down when exposed to warmer temperatures, due to unique thermal fluctuations that are typically undetectable at larger scales. Beyond advancing fundamental physics, the researchers believe the Paul Trap could revolutionize the study of protein folding—a critical biological process linked to human health and disease. By functioning as an analog computer, the engine can simulate the random forces influencing protein folding more efficiently than traditional digital simulations, which struggle with the vastly different timescales of atomic motion and protein folding. This approach may enable better