Smallest electric motor
Who
Department of Chemistry Tufts University
What
1 nanometre(s)
Where
United States (Boston)
When
The world’s smallest electric motor measures one nanometre across and consists of a single molecule of butyl methyl sulphide on a copper surface. The molecule spins under the influence of electric charge introduced by the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope. This work was achieved by scientists at the Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and announced in September 2011.