The smallest car
2005/12/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Scientists at Rice University manufacture a single-molecule car. Like conventional cars, it has frame, axles and four wheels. And like real cars, when turning the wheels, it advances in direction perpendicular to the axles.
The nanocar has an approximate length of 3-4 nanometers, twenty times the diameter of a hair. The chassis and axles are formed by well-defined organic groups, which allow a rotating suspension and free rotation of the axles. The wheels are fulerene and consist of 60 carbon atoms.
Researchers have taken eight years to build the vehicle. Tying wheels to the frame and axles has been especially difficult. However, the most difficult thing has been to prove that it actually works. To do this, they have circulated the nanocar in a layer of gold and have been able to see and record how it moves through an effective microscope.
