An electric molecular motor has been created by researchers at Tufts University (USA). This is the first time a molecular motor powered by electricity is produced. So far, molecular motors were fed to light, or through modification of the chemical parameters such as acidity, for example.
The engine consists of a butyl methyl sulfide molecule. Which is able to rotate in one direction or the other, according to the current it receives.
Obviously, this engine is tiny: it’s so small that it measures just a nanometer. Which makes the electric motor … the world’s smallest!
The current is supplied to the motor in the form of an electron flux emitted by a scanning electron microscope, operating at very low temperature.
The engine could lead to particular medical applications. But first, researchers must reach to operate this engine … at room temperature.
