TV News LIES

Friday, Jul 18th

Last update07:16:00 AM GMT

You are here News Science Scientists Create World's First Molecule-Sized Electric Motor

Scientists Create World's First Molecule-Sized Electric Motor

Molecule sized motorResearchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts have created the world's smallest electric motor, the size of a single molecule, recently publishing the results in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology. Although applications for the nanoscale device are a long way off, the achievement could one day lead to nanoscale machines capable of performing surgery on a single cell, for instance.

The motor is made of a single molecule of butyl methyl sulfide—basically a sulfur molecule with two "arms" made of carbon and hydrogen atoms (the yellow-and-green dots in the middle of the photo to the left).

When laid on a copper surface (the orange dots) and stimulated with electricity, the molecule began to rotate, swinging its arms round and round, just a like a macroscopic motor. The whole device is just one nanometer across (a human hair is about 60,000 nanometers thick). Motors this small have been demonstrated before, but they've been powered by heat, chemicals, or light. This is the first molecular motor to run on electricity.

Like the scientists who first mapped electron orbitals, the team used a Scanning Tunneling Microscope to get their molecule motor running. The microscope is the only tool capable of probing such small distances, and without precise manipluation of individual molecules, the runnings of one molecular motor would end up interfering with another. Imagine two wind turbines whose blades are so close they would hit each other if both were turned on.

More...


Most Recent Related Stories...


The Trump administration reverses its promise to publish key climate reports online

Trump will not put climate reports onlineThe Trump administration on Monday took another step to make it harder to find major, legally...

Trump administration reportedly planning to fire 2,145 Nasa employees

NASA layoffsThe Trump administration is reportedly planning to cut at least 2,145 high-ranking Nasa employees with specialized...

Over 2K UFO sightings reported in first half of 2025

UFO sightingsThere have been more than 2,000 sightings of UFOs in the first half of 2025, according...

‘Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US honeybees

BeekeepBret Adee is one of the largest beekeepers in the US, with 2 billion bees across...
 
America's # 1 Enemy
Tee Shirt
& Help Support TvNewsLIES.org!
TVNL Tee Shirt
 
TVNL TOTE BAG
Conserve our Planet
& Help Support TvNewsLIES.org!
 
Get your 9/11 & Media
Deception Dollars
& Help Support TvNewsLIES.org!
 
The Loaded Deck
The First & the Best!
The Media & Bush Admin Exposed!