Courtesy of iStockphoto; Copyright: Martin McCarthy

Physics News posted 23 hours ago | 0 comments

Scientists Build Nano Hot Rods

Like a team of laboratory gearheads, Arizona State University (A.S.U.) researchers have found a way to soup up microscopic "nanomachines" that may someday be used to deliver lifesaving medications or test the quality of drinking water in remote regions of the world. In place of turbochargers and high-octane gas, the scientists tweaked their engine design and used an additive to speed the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide into fuel to create nanomachines 350 times more powerful than any previously built.

A nanomachine is a tiny device of less than a micron (one millionth of a meter, or about four one-hundred-thousandths of an inch) in size that scientists hope will soon be able to carry out a variety of medical and research functions, such as the targeted delivery of anticancer drugs, more efficiently and quickly than is possible today.... [more]