Technology.am (June 29, 2009) — Sir James Dyson has unveiled a hand-held vacuum cleaner which is run on “the fastest motor in the world”, ten times quicker than the engine of a Boeing 747 aircraft.

The DC 31 vacuum, which weighs 2.2lb, is the first ever domestic appliance to incorporate a so-called digital switched reluctance motor, which Sir James claims is the “fastest motor in the world.”

At 104,000 revolutions per minute, the motor turns ten times as fast as a commercial aircraft, five times as fast as a Formula 1 engine and more than twice as fast as the most powerful industrial milling machines.

The only thing quicker is a dentist’s drill, but that is technically a turbine, not a motor.

The digital motor is half the weight and size of a normal motor of the same power. The £129 hand-held vacuum cleaner will go on sale next month.