The world's smallest nanotubes

Tufts University researchers have announced they have succeeded in making the engine, to date, the smallest in the world, according to a report in the journal Nature Nanotechnology .

The special feature of this nano-engine is that it is the first electron-electron scintillator in the world because scientists have previously made nanoparticles that operate by light or by reaction. chemistry.

Illustration of the world's smallest nanotechnology.

Smallest nano motor is only a molecule consisting of a sulfur atom from which 'grow' two 'arms' is a carbon atom and hydrogen atom, put on a copper baseplate. The top of this molecule is the needle of a scanning electron microscope, which acts as a cathode that supplies energy.

The size of the entire system is only about 1 nanometer (one nanometer is one thousandth of a meter) and exists at a temperature of 5 degrees Kelvin.

Under the effect of electrons from the electron microscope's emitted electrons, directed towards the molecule, the engine rotates around a vertical axis. As a result, the molecule will move inward. The rotational speed of this tiny engine is 50 cycles per second.

Scientists hope that in the future the engine will be used to create a nanosystem and microscopic sensors for different purposes.