Researchers from the Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts have created the worlds smallest electric motor which is made from just a single molecule and measures an amazing a billionth of a metre, or just one nanometer across.
The team led by associate professor of chemistry Charles Sykes were able to move a single butyl methyl sulfide molecule back and forth using a scanning tunnelling microscope and dropping the temperature of the molecule down to 5 Kelvin or 450F to be able to count the rotations of the molecule.
To get a better grip on just how small this motor is a human hair is 60,000 nanometers in diameter and the motor is just one. The current record for the smallest electrical motor stands at 200 nanometers so I would imagine the Guinness book of Records now needs to be updated.
The team hopes to harness the power to fight the friction that slows fluid flow in nanosized tubes.
Source: New Scientist : Nature
Filed Under: Technology News