Scientists Just Transformed a 2,000-Year-Old Invention into a Molecule-Sized Motor

• The scientists have transformed an ancient Archimedes screw into a molecular motor that converts electrical current into controlled rotation. The new motor, consisting of a spiral-shaped molecule between two gold electrodes, operates at the smallest scales and could pave the way for new machines.
• The research involved an international collaboration, including the Weizmann Institute of Science, the University of Copenhagen, and the University of Augsburg. The motor's rotation is controlled by the direction of the applied voltage, and it shows improved electrical conductivity during rotation.
• The study revealed that the molecule's conductivity increases dramatically during rotation, up to 100 times in certain configurations, and that rotation allows the molecule to conduct electricity more efficiently than when stationary. This new operating principle could advance fields like molecular electronics and spintronics.

AI-generated summary of the original article — see the source for the full story.