Needs to be scaled up so we can ride in it .

photo on
http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=6847&CatID=5

American scientists build world’s first nano car

Agencies
Sunday, October 23, 2005 15:50 IST



American scientists at Rice University have constructed the world’s
smallest car — a single molecule “nanocar” that contains a chassis,
axles and four buckyball wheels.

The nanocar consists of a chassis and axles made of well-defined
organic groups with pivoting suspension and freely rotating axles. The
wheels are buckyballs, spheres of pure carbon containing 60 atoms
apiece. The entire car measures just 3-4 nanometres across, making it
slightly wider than a strand of DNA. A human hair, by comparison, is
about 80,000 nanometres in diameter.

“The synthesis and testing of nanocars and other molecular machines is
providing critical insight in our investigations of bottom-up
molecular manufacturing,” said one of the two lead researchers, James
M. Tour, the Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of mechanical
engineering and materials science.

“We’d eventually like to move objects and do work in a controlled
fashion on the molecular scale, and these vehicles are great test beds
for that. They’re helping us learn the ground rules.”

Other research groups have created nanoscale objects that are shaped
like automobiles, but study co-author Kevin F. Kelly, assistant
professor of electrical and computer engineering, said Rice’s vehicle
is the first that actually functions like a car, rolling on four
wheels in a direction perpendicular to its axles.

Kelly and his group, experts in scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM),
provided the measurements and experimental evidence that verified the
rolling movement.

“It’s fairly easy to build nanoscale objects that slide around on a
surface,” Kelly said. “Proving that we were rolling — not slipping and
sliding — was the most difficult parts of this project.” To do that,
Kelly and graduate student Andrew Osgood measured the movement of the
nanocars across a gold surface. At room temperature, strong electrical
bonds hold the buckyball wheels tightly against the gold, but heating
to about 200 degrees Celsius frees them to roll
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habshi wrote:
Needs to be scaled up so we can ride in it .

photo on
http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=6847&CatID=5

American scientists build world's first nano car

Carriage but not automobile.

Now it requires a power source.

What kind of mpg does it get?


Bret Cahill

The posted article differs from the link and states that they have
already followed up with a light (I assume laser) powered nano-car as
well as a nano-truck capable of carrying a payload. I don't expect
these vehicles have 'engines' per se but are driven along by electro
dyanamic pressure. In the first tests the nano-car was pulled along
using the probe tip of a scanning tunneling electron microscope.

Kevin

Only 15% of the petrol energy is converted to power on the
roads. What if we leave the car running all night in the garage while
it charges an electric battery or a few of them ?
Will that get say 50% of the energy converted so that we can
end all oil imports . Electric engines are better at stop , go driving

In sci.physics habshi wrote:
Only 15% of the petrol energy is converted to power on the
roads. What if we leave the car running all night in the garage while
it charges an electric battery or a few of them ?
Will that get say 50% of the energy converted so that we can
end all oil imports . Electric engines are better at stop , go driving

You are probably the most blazingly stupid person I've ever heard
that wasn't institutionalized.

--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

Its only 10 % .
LPE proves it and the water rocket proves it.