The first thermal nanomotor
Isn't it great when we get to witness an invention that could revolutionize
alot of science branches? It's almost...enlightening. Makes me feel like humanity isn't going one step forward and two steps back. Every step is a step forward in my opinion. People used to poke holes in skulls to release evil spirits, now they perform complex microsurgery. People used to kill each other with swords one by one, now they drop a nuclear bomb, wiping off the local population and damaging the whole planet. Some may think that's a step back, but tell me this, did they use nuclear bombs in WW2? I'm sorry, they did, but then what about WW1? See? Every invention is a step forward. But now, let's get back to the matter at hand -- first thermal nanomotor.
Nano basically means really small, 10^-9 to be exact. So a thermal nanomotor means a very small mechanism that reacts to temperature. To explain the picture above, you see a cylindrical nanotube made of carbon atoms (yellow) and a shorter (red) tube that goes around it. The latter is capable of rotating and moving back and forth, thus transporting a metal material (presumably an another nano-mechanism). The operators can control the nanomotor's movement by changing temperatures at the carbon tube's ends.
This conveyor-like mechanism is thought to bring new ways into the fields of biomedicine and new material production. The way I see it, it could build sophisticated nano-mechanisms, maybe even inside a human body. As your grand-grand parents say " I witnessed the invention of cars", so now you'll be able to respond with a "Yeah? Well, i was there before nanomotors changed our lives" which I hope they'll do.