An international research team reported a molecular-scale machine in a paper published in Nature on October 22. The study used a spiral-shaped carbon molecule held between two gold electrode tips.
When the researchers applied voltage, the electrical current changed in patterns they interpreted as cyclic motion in the molecule. Reversing the voltage polarity reversed the movement’s preferred direction, the team reported.
The researchers also found that stretching or compressing the molecule-electrode junction changed the voltage threshold at which the current rose. These were measurements of a single molecule in a laboratory, not a ready-to-use motor.
The experiment gives researchers a system for studying how electrical energy and molecular movement can influence one another. Any practical application remains a research question.
