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Nanocar Wins Top Science Award

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the more-than-meets-the-eye dept.

Lucas123 writes "A researcher who built a car slightly larger than a strand of DNA won the Foresight Institute Feynman Prize for experimental nanotechnology. James Tour, a professor of chemistry at Rice Univ. built a car only 4 nanometers in width in order to demonstrate that nanovehicles could be controlled enough to deliver payloads to build larger objects, such as memory chips and, someday, even buildings, like a self-assembling machine. Tour and a team of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers constructed a car with chassis, working suspension, wheels and a motor. 'You shine light on it and the motor spins in one direction and pushes the car like a paddle wheel on the surface,' Tour said. The team also built a truck that can carry a payload."

13 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. Does this mean by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 4, Funny

    The researchers will be asking for a bailout instead of a grant?

    1. Re:Does this mean by steelfood · · Score: 3, Funny

      And they'll get one proportional to the size of their cars.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    2. Re:Does this mean by sentientbeing · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ah nanotechnology. The next big thing.

      --

      ------
      beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his mind he dreams himself your master
  2. No Cup Holders? by vjmurphy · · Score: 4, Funny

    No cup holders? Worthless. Even Nanites need somewhere to put their Nano-Dr Pepper.

    --
    Vincent J. Murphy
    Spandex Justice
    1. Re:No Cup Holders? by flyingsquid · · Score: 4, Funny

      Or maybe a little pair of buckyballs to hang off the trailer hitch.

    2. Re:No Cup Holders? by internetcommie · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't really think anybody wants to show off the fact that they have nano-nuts...

  3. Re:Missing tags.... by rbrausse · · Score: 4, Funny

    sorry - too little, too late :)

  4. Oh hell no!! by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh hell no, please.

    My wife has enough trouble finding the regular sized car when she has been shopping.

    How the hell will she find a nano-car?

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
    1. Re:Oh hell no!! by SirGarlon · · Score: 3, Funny

      Look on the bright side: it's easy to park. :-)

      --
      [Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
  5. Finally... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    THE car for the man with an incredibly long penis.

  6. To put that in layman's terms... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    4 nanometers is 1/3,657,600,000 of a Volkswagen.

  7. Re:lots of small things working together by jav1231 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Lots of small things working together also creates redundancy.

    Let's just hope this redundancy produces a single sky scraper as opposed to 50+ distro's and a dozen or more winmanagers! :p

  8. Found a picture by blue+l0g1c · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here it is --> .
    (couldn't help myself)