A team of chemists from Tufts University in Massachussets has developed an electric motor so tiny, that it can not be seen with the naked eye! Made from a single molecule, the electric device measures one nanometer across, or about 1/60,000th the width of a single strand of human hair!

To 'build' the teeny tiny electric motor, scientists first isolated one molecule of butyl methyl sulfide, which basically is a sulpur molecule with 'arms' made of carbon and hydrogen atoms. They then placed it on a conductive copper surface and electrically charged it with the help of the metal tip of a specialized low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. Once the molecule-motor was charged, the scientists were able to manipulate and controll its rotational speed, by simply varying the surrounding temperature. While motors this small have been developed before, they have either been powered by chemicals or light - never electricity.

However, this tinsy electric motor still has a long ways to go - The biggest issue facing the scientists is that it currently runs best when the surrounding temperature is a negative 450°F - Not the most perfect scenario to have, in a normal world. However, E.Charles. H. Sykes, the lead researcher behind the project, believes that with additional experimentation, they will get their nano electric motor to hum at normal temperatures - And when they do, he anticipates it being used for devices ranging from cell phones to pacemakers.

Meanwhile, they have submitted their invention for a spot in the Guinness World Records - Given that the current record is held by an electric motor that is 200 nanometers wide, this tinsy electic motor should be a shoe-in!

Resources: voanews.com,inhabitat.com