Nano-Machines Achieve Huge Mechanical Breakthrough

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Press Release, 7 Sep 2005 A major advance in nanotechnology with far-reaching potential benefits in medicine and other fields is to be announced at this year's BA Festival of Science in Dublin. Scientists have built molecules that can, for the first time ever, move larger-than-atom-sized objects. In an unprecedented breakthrough, chemists at Edinburgh University have used light to stimulate man-made molecules to propel small droplets of liquid across flat surfaces and even up 12° slopes against the force of gravity. This is equivalent to tiny movements in a conventional machine raising objects to over twice the height of the world's tallest building. Read more