An Indian college student has built the world’s smallest vacuum cleaner to reclaim his Guinness World Record. Tapala Nadamuni, from the Department of Architecture, National Institute of Technology (NIT Patna) created the 0.65 cm device almost entirely using a ballpoint pen – beating the previous record by 0.2 cm.
To put the miniature scale of Nadamuni’s vacuum cleaner into perspective, 0.65 cm is less than the average width of the little fingernail.
“The vacuum is measured by the shortest axis of its body, meaning the handle and power cord dimensions are excluded from the final measurement,” Guinness World Records said in a release.
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The Class of 2024 student first achieved his record four years ago, when he built a vacuum cleaner measuring 1.76-cm. However, a far smaller vacuum was awarded the title in 2022.
Nadamuni had been trying to reclaim it for the past two years, during which the design of his vacuum underwent a complete rethink, involving more than 50 blueprints to make sure it still fit the definition of one.
“For the purposes of the record, a vacuum cleaner is defined as an electrically powered device which picks up debris with suction resulting from a negative internal pressure,” Guinness said.
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It wasn’t until he put some of his creations through tests that Nadamuni learnt he further needed to alter his design, according to the release.
He used a refillable ballpoint and some bits of metal and plastic for the new vacuum, which contains a tiny fan powered by a four-volt vibration motor. When plugged into a power source, this fan rotates to create suction, which causes dust grains to get stored in the device.
Nadamuni’s vacuum cleaner, which also makes a whirring sound and can be emptied out for reuse, cost him about ₹20,000.
The 23-year-old student, who “invents” gadgets as a hobby, said his friends in college were fascinated by his creation, which his faculty described as the “most beautiful” thing they had seen.