Slashdot Mirror
The World's Smallest Car
starexplorer writes "Start your Nano-engines? LiveScience.com is reporting that researchers at Rice University have designed the world's smallest car that is no more than 4 nanometers across. It has a chassis, axles and a pivoting suspension. The wheels are buckyballs. Why do it? The team wants to build a fleet of nanotrucks to carry atoms and molecules around minature factories." So it's not exactly self-powered, but it rolls. It's a start!
With less cookies and better pictures at Nanotechnology Now
from dictionary.com 5. Archaic. A chariot, carriage, or cart. I think this qualifies, although maybe on a technicality. Surely if you put the worlds smallest motor on it, you'd have the worlds smallest motor car. I think that it's not as sensasionalist as you make out.
I'm too lazy to google for it, but there's a company selling a nanomotor coated window glass for office buildings. You can buy it today.
The idea is that the tiny motors rotate when powered by the sun. When the glass is dirty (spots from the rain, mineral deposits, bird "deposits", spider webs, etc.,) in a few hours the rotation will sweep the dirt from the glass. It's supposed to pay for itself by avoiding window-cleanings, especially on high-rise buildings.
And I believe someone is using something similar to make a nanotech-based fog-free snowmobile visor. If you've ever ridden a snowmobile for more than a few hundred yards, you're probably familiar with the fogging problem. The first guy to market with this will have a solid lock on a big pile of money.
And let's not forget our old buddy, DLP. While it's not technically "nanotech", it's still "microtech."
What I think is neatest about the glass treatments is that they have nothing to do with computers or even technology! Some creative person just came up with a damn clever idea. There will undoubtedly be more.
John