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Nanomotor
Powered by the Light
A new molecular device is powered by a
sunlight: an external, practically unlimited power
source. Switching on the light, turns in movement,
and when the light is off, the movement comes back in the
other direction. It is autonomous and it doesn't
involve producing waste.
The device consists of a
ring that shuttles back and forth between two stations on a
barbell-shaped molecule, making the complete trip as many as a
thousand times in a second. As long as no light hits the
device, the ring is held in place by electrostatic forces at
the first station. When exposed to light, one end of the
molecule releases an electron, which travels to the first
station and cancels the force holding the ring in place. This
frees the ring to move to the second station. When the device
is removed from the light, the first station regains its
attraction and the ring slips back.
New molecular
machines could find uses in both computing and cancer
treatment. Proceedings of the National
Academy of
Sciences | 
