The smallest engine in the world is a molecule

The smallest electric engine in the world, made of a single molecule was created by researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
The engine, created from a single molecule has a size equivalent to one billionth of a meter, according to the study being published in the Nature Nanotechnology magazine, informs bbc.co.uk.
Tiny engines can have various applications in both nanotechnology and medicine.
Nano rotors consist of single molecules were presented by researchers in the past, but the engine developed by scientists at Tufts University is the first of its kind that can be operated with electricity.
People have already discovered in the past that they can make engines powered by light or chemical reactions, but the problem was that in this way billions of such engines are operated at the same time, said Charles Sykes, professor of chemistry at Tufts University, the coordinator of the team that developed this invention.
"What is interesting about our electric motor is that you can marvel and watch the movement of a single engine and see how he behaves in real time," said the american scholar.
The Metilsulfat butyl molecule was placed on a clean copper surface, where her only sulfur atom acted as a pivot.
united States scientists used a special type of electron microscope to induce an electrical charge into the engine and to photograph the molecule as it revolved.
The molecule was spinning in both directions at a speed of 120 rotations / second.
By small changes in these molecules, scientists could use it in the future to generate a certain microwave radiation or coupling these molecules to create nanoelectromecanic systems.
Such devices could be used in medicine, to carry a particular drug in a controlled manner to a specific area of the body.
Until then, Charles Sykes and his team of researchers have already contacted the Guinness Book of World Records for their invention to be officially recognized as the world's smallest electric motor.
For now, the record for the smallest electrical motor is 200 nanometers, according to Guinness Book bau the newly developed motor byTufts University is only 1 nanometer across.