Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microbes That Produce Miniature Electrical Wires

Posted by samzenpus on from the nano-doozers dept.

anukit writes "Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered a tiny biological structure that is highly electrically conductive. This breakthrough helps describe how microorganisms can clean up groundwater and produce electricity from renewable resources. It may also have applications in the emerging field of nanotechnology, which develops advanced materials and devices in extremely small dimensions."

1 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. The length of these wires by rpcxdr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The nanowires are incredibly fine, only 3-5 nanometers in width (20,000 times finer than a human hair), but quite durable and more than a thousand times long as they are wide.

    In other words, the length of these wires is 20 times finer than a human hair. They sure do work to make these numbers sound exciting!