Molecular Machinery: различия между версиями

=== Top Level: Manipulators ===

There's little technical information about this; only a few images and a simulation showing that the top bearing can, in fact, be used as a bearing. For now we can assume it's more of an art project than an actual, technical manipulator. The elbow, however, has an interesting geometry.

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File:Crank.jpg

File:Tripod.jpg

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==== NASA's Diamond Data Storage ====

This could probably be implemented in Silicon using an scanning tunneling microscope to pop off Hydrogen atoms from an H-terminated Silicon surface ([[Patterned Atomic Layer Epitaxy]]), then filling the chamber with something like Fluorine radicals, or some other molecule that will deposit a Fluorine or Chlorine atom on the depassivated spots. Hydrogen is 0, the other element is 1. Then it could be read it with an atomic force microscope, as demonstrated by Oscar Custance and company in [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v446/n7131/edsumm/e070301-01.html "Chemical identification of individual surface atoms by atomic force microscopy"] Nature, March 2007.

== Motors ==

=== Nanotube Electrostatic Motor ===

The following content is mirrored from the [http://nanoengineer-1.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=Main_Page NanoEngineer-1 Wiki].

The design of complex nanosystems with numerous moving parts is made complicated by the fundamental limits of chemical bonding and the possible interfaces between moving parts that can be achieved with certain nanostructures.  It is possible that this spatial quantization of atomically precise building materials may also be used to drive the self-assembly of some nanosystems, greatly simplifying the assembly process.  The nesting of appropriately sized carbon nanotubes, such as shown here, can serve as a strong driving force for molecular bearing self-assembly.

This molecular [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_%28mechanical_device%29 differential gear] was designed by K. Eric Drexler and Ralph Merkle sometime around 1995 while working together at Xerox PARC. In the animated sequence above, you can clearly see the casing and six components of the internal assembly as each is hidden in the cutaway view.

===SRG-II Speed Reducer Gear===

The SRG-II is another parallel-shaft speed reducer gear created by Mark Sims. It was designed and modeled completely from scratch using NanoEngineer-1 (Alpha 6). The goal of the SRG-II was to create a robust nanoscale gear complete with a casing and extended connector shafts. As you can see, the SRG-II looks every bit like a speed reducer gear. Although the casing is a single component, its atoms have been grouped into sections and hidden in the animated sequence above so that you can better visualize the casing arrangement.

* Steps per Frame: 50.0 femtoseconds

* Temperature: 300K

As can be seen from this speed plot of the rotary motor attached to the pinion gear, the acceleration time was about 23 picoseconds. The duration of the simulation was 47 picoseconds.

With practice, an experienced user can create this bearing in 10-15 minutes. NanoEngineer-1 includes an extrusion tool for creating rods and rings from a molecular fragment (called a chunk in NanoEngineer-1).

The contraption with spokes connected to the inner shaft is called a [http://nanoengineer-1.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=Feature:Rotary_Motor Rotary Motor]. This is a type of jig in NanoEngineer-1 that applies torque to the atoms to which it is attached during a molecular dynamics simulation, driving the inner shaft. The rotary motor here had a torque setting of 1.0 nN-nm and a speed of 10 GHz. These values are extreme and were used to produce an interesting simulation as quickly as possible. A serious engineer assessing the operating conditions of this bearing would have used more reasonable numbers.

===Neon Pump===

''"That is also a rotary motor driven by gas pressure if you operate it in the opposite direction. Push gas through it and you’ll get rotary motion. It’s a really nice motor."'' - [[Robert Freitas]]

===Sorting Pump===

This molecular sorting pump was a Nanorex collaborative design led by K. Eric Drexler, Josh Hall and Damian Allis starting in late 2006. The idea for this pump was inspired by the sorting pump depicted in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEYN18d7gHg the Nanofactory video] (at 1:30) which selectively processes acetylene molecules. The goal was to design a sorting mechanism that was more detailed (and plausible) than the sorting rotor depicted in the animation.

===Abstract Sorting Pump===

==== Compound ====

=== Turbopump ===

Not much is known about this design. Macroscale vacuum pumps are limited by the vapor pressure of their lubricants. Fullerene, being a superlubricant, has no such problem, and so fullerene-coated diamondoid positive-displacement pumps can be constructed to serve as UHV pumps.

==== Microfilament ====

== Sorting ==