While floating in a liquid, common bacteria can turn a variety of tiny gears. Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory say their finding could open up the possibility of microscopic swimmers -- whether natural such as bacteria or artificial such as nanorobots -- that power tiny devices.
The bacteria don't know they're turning gears a million times more massive then themselves. They're just swimming around at random. But in large quantities, say 10 billion cells per cubic centimeter, the organisms begin to swim together in what the researchers described as “self-organized, large-scale vortices.”
Their combined efforts eventually work in tandem to turn gears that resemble the workings of clock gears. In this Scientific American blog, John Matson explains this unusual phenomenon, called Brownian ratchet, "in which arbitrary fluctuations generate directed motion to power tiny mechanical systems."
Scientists can control the speed of the bacteria by increasing or decreasing the amount of oxygen, which bacteria need, in the liquid.
The microscopic motors could be used to propel fluid through for microfluidic devices that scientists use in laboratories.
Photo: Argonne National Lab
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Tags: Molecular Motors, Nanorobots, Nanotech
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