Das 4 x 2 Nanometer kleine Molekül-Auto fährt auf seinen elektrisch angetriebenen Rädern über eine Kupferoberfläche.
Reduced to the max: the emission-free, noiseless 4-wheel drive ca represents lightweight construction at its most extreme. The nano car consists of just a single molecule and travels on four electrically-driven wheels in an almost straight line over a copper surface. A number of chemists aim to use similar principles and concepts to design molecular transport machines, which could then carry out specific tasks on the nano scale. Scientists at Empa have successfully taken a decisive step on the road to artificial nano-scale transport systems. They have synthesised a molecule from four rotating motor units, i.e. wheels, which can travel straight ahead in a controlled manner. "To do this, our car needs neither rails nor petrol; it runs on electricity. It must be the smallest electric car in the world - and it even comes with 4-wheel drive" comments Empa researcher Karl-Heinz Ernst.
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