How big of an external disk do I have to use to back up my mac mini using the time machine app?

I have a new Mac Mini, and I wanted to begin using time machine to back up my files.  I tried to use an external hard drive that is used for our other machines (PCs) and it would not allow that hard drive to be used b/c it did not have a valid file structure.  I did not know how to fix that, so I was going to buy another external hard drive to support backing up the Mac Mini with OSX10.8.1 and a 500GB hard drive.  I saw somewhere that as lonmg as I had twice the RAM (4GB) it should be ok, but that seemed to be too small.  I was considering buying a 500GB if necessary.
Does anyone know if I can use a small 8GB flash drive to support the backups or do I need a 500GB or similar external hard drive to backup the Mac Mini with time machine?
Thanks.

It is recommended that Time Machine has its Own Dedicated Hard Drive that is at least Twice the size of the Drive(s) you intend to Backup.
Time Machine  >  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427

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