Nano Sized Car Invented

It's time for the nano revolution. Nanotech research, which is the science of manipulating matter at molecular scale, has come a long way in recent years. Scientists envision a future in which nanorobots, machines and transporters perform a variety of tasks benefiting industries ranging from medicine to manufacturing. Now the dreams coming true. A tiny nano-sized car which can propel itself forward in response to electrical pulses has been created by scientists in the Netherlands.

The electric-powered vehicle, which is the size of a single molecule, has a chassis and four paddle-shaped wheels and is roughly one-billionth the size of a traditional hatchback car. The car traveled six nanometers on its initial journey and required 500 millivolts of electricity for every half revolution of its wheels, quite a bit proportionately.
But it does signify a major milestone for nanotech research (the science of manipulating matter at molecular scale) since it demonstrates that single molecules can absorb electrical energy and turn it into targeted motion.


Fuel is one of the key components in nanotechnology, and one that scientists are still working on.
"To build the nanotechnology of the future like nanorobots, machines and transporters you need something to fuel it," said Ben Feringa, professor of organic chemistry at the University of Groningen and an author of the nanotech research.
"There are many nanosystems built from all kinds of materials, but this is, as far as we can tell, the first time a nanomotor has been used to propel something by fueling it."
The fuel in this instance came from a scanning tunnelling microscope (STP) with its atom-sized stylus acting as an electrode allowing electricity to flow from its tip to the surface beneath it, Feringa says.
"When there is a molecule, the current goes through it and electricity excites the motor which drives the car forward," Feringa said.
 "So there is a great incentive to build motors at the nanoscale. There are many nanosystems built from all kinds of materials, but this is, as far as we can tell, the first time a nanomotor has been used to propel something by fueling it."




The smallest synthetic motor was built by Alex Zetti, a professor of physics at University of California, Berkeley in 2003. The first nano car designed without a motor was built in 2005 by James Tour.