Scientists have designed a molecule which, like a human, walks in a straight line on a flat surface, one step at a time. This 'nano-walker' -- 9,10-dithioanthracene or DTA -- has two linkers that act as feet. "Obtaining its energy from heat supplied to it, the molecule moves such that only one of the linkers is lifted from the surface; the remaining linker guides the motion of the molecule and keeps it on course." The DTA molecule closely mimics human walking, always having a foot on the surface while the other is pulling the molecule. The fact that the motion is fully controllable might lead to applications in molecular computing, for example for storing large amounts of information on nanoscale chips. Read more...
Sources: UCR News, September 26, 2005; and various web sites
You'll find related stories by following the links below.
And remember that comments are no longer accepted here because of a vandal. If you want to tell me something about this post, please go to the bottom right of this page and send me an e-mail.
3:05:46 PM
Permalink
|
