Fullerene_Nanogears_-_GPN-2000-001535.jpg

Summary

Description	English: The Numerical Aerospace Simulation Systems Division (NAS) of the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California is conducting research into molecular-sized devices known as Nanotechnology. This photograph depicts two "Fullerene Nano-gears" with multiple teeth. The hope is that one day, products can be constructed made of thousands of tiny machines that could self-repair and adapt to the environment in which they exist. Researchers have simulated attaching benzene molecules to the outside of a nanotube to form gear teeth. Nanotubes are molecular-sized pipes made of carbon atoms. To "drive" the gears, the supercomputer simulated a laser that served as a motor. The laser creates an electric field around the nanotube. A positively charged atom is placed on one side of the nanotube, and a negatively charged atom on the other side. The electric field drags the nanotube around like a shaft turning. Jie Han, Al Globus, Richard Jaffe and Glenn Deardorff are the authors of a technical paper detailing this technology which appears in The Journal of Nanotechnology.
Date	1 April 1997
Source	Great Images in NASA: Home - info - pic
Author	NASA

This image or video was catalogued by Ames Research Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: A-NAS-NANOGEARS .

This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing .

Other languages:

This image or video was catalogued by Great Images in NASA of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: GPN-2000-001535 .

This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing .

Other languages:

	This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA . NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted ". (See Template:PD-USGov , NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy .)
	Warnings: Use of NASA logos , insignia and emblems is restricted per U.S. law 14 CFR 1221 . The NASA website hosts a large number of images from the Soviet / Russian space agency , and other non-American space agencies. These are not necessarily in the public domain. Materials based on Hubble Space Telescope data may be copyrighted if they are not explicitly produced by the STScI . [1] See also {{PD-Hubble}} and {{Cc-Hubble}} . The SOHO (ESA & NASA) joint project implies that all materials created by its probe are copyrighted and require permission for commercial non-educational use. [2] Images featured on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) web site may be copyrighted. [3] The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) site has been known to host copyrighted content . Its photo gallery FAQ states that all of the images in the photo gallery are in the public domain "Unless otherwise noted."