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Nanomotor
A nanomotor is a molecular or nanoscale device capable of converting energy into movement. It can typically generate forces on the order of piconewtons. While nanoparticles have been utilized by artists for centuries, such as in the famous Lycurgus cup, scientific research into nanotechnology did not come about until recently. In 1959, Richard Feynman gave a famous talk entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" at the American Physical Society's conference hosted at Caltech. He went on to wage a scientific bet that no one person could design a motor smaller than 400 μm on any side. The purpose of the bet (as with most scientific bets) was to inspire scientists to develop new technologies, and anyone who could develop a nanomotor could claim the $1,000 USD prize. However, his purpose was thwarted by William McLellan, who fabricated a nanomotor without developing new methods. Nonetheless, Richard Feynman's speech inspired a new generation of scientists to pursue resear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanomotor Inside Cell
A nanomotor is a molecular or nanoscale device capable of converting energy into movement. It can typically generate forces on the order of piconewtons. While nanoparticles have been utilized by artists for centuries, such as in the famous Lycurgus cup, scientific research into nanotechnology did not come about until recently. In 1959, Richard Feynman gave a famous talk entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" at the American Physical Society's conference hosted at Caltech. He went on to wage a scientific bet that no one person could design a motor smaller than 400 μm on any side. The purpose of the bet (as with most scientific bets) was to inspire scientists to develop new technologies, and anyone who could develop a nanomotor could claim the $1,000 USD prize. However, his purpose was thwarted by William McLellan, who fabricated a nanomotor without developing new methods. Nonetheless, Richard Feynman's speech inspired a new generation of scientists to pursue researc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Micromotor
Micromotors are very small particles (measured in microns) that can move themselves. The term is often used interchangeably with "nanomotor," despite the implicit size difference. These micromotors actually propel themselves in a specific direction autonomously when placed in a chemical solution. There are many different micromotor types operating under a host of mechanisms. Easily the most important examples are biological motors such as bacteria and any other self-propelled cells. Synthetically, researchers have exploited oxidation-reduction reactions to produce chemical gradients, local fluid flows, or streams of bubbles that then propel these micromotors through chemical media. Different stimuli, both external (light, magnetism) and internal (fuel concentration, material composition, particle asymmetry) can be used to control the behavior of these micromotors. Micromotors may have applications in medicine since they have been shown to be able to deliver materials to living c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayusman Sen
Ayusman Sen is the Verne M. Willaman Professor of Chemistry, with appointments at the Departments of Chemical engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Materials Science & Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. He received a $25,000 award in 1984 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Early life and education Sen was born in Kolkata, Calcutta, India. He received his Bachelor of Science, B.Sc from University of Calcutta after which he obtained his Master of Science, M.Sc from IIT Kanpur, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. He received his Doctor of Philosophy, PhD from the University of Chicago in 1978 under the direction of Jack Halpern (chemist), Jack Halpern followed by a year of Postdoctoral researcher, postdoctoral research with John E. Bercaw, John E.Bercaw at the California Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology. Career He joined the faculty at the Penn State in 1979, where he served as the Head of the Chemistry Department from 2004-2009. Sen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molecular Motors
Molecular motors are natural (biological) or artificial molecular machines that are the essential agents of movement in living organisms. In general terms, a motor is a device that consumes energy in one form and converts it into motion or mechanical work; for example, many protein-based molecular motors harness the chemical free energy released by the hydrolysis of ATP in order to perform mechanical work. In terms of energetic efficiency, this type of motor can be superior to currently available man-made motors. One important difference between molecular motors and macroscopic motors is that molecular motors operate in the thermal bath, an environment in which the fluctuations due to thermal noise are significant. Examples Some examples of biologically important molecular motors: * Cytoskeletal motors ** Myosins are responsible for muscle contraction, intracellular cargo transport, and producing cellular tension. ** Kinesin moves cargo inside cells away from the nucle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein Translation
In biology, translation is the process in living cells in which proteins are produced using RNA molecules as templates. The generated protein is a sequence of amino acids. This sequence is determined by the sequence of nucleotides in the RNA. The nucleotides are considered three at a time. Each such triple results in the addition of one specific amino acid to the protein being generated. The matching from nucleotide triple to amino acid is called the genetic code. The translation is performed by a large complex of functional RNA and proteins called ribosomes. The entire process is called gene expression. In translation, messenger RNA (mRNA) is decoded in a ribosome, outside the nucleus, to produce a specific amino acid chain, or polypeptide. The polypeptide later folds into an active protein and performs its functions in the cell. The polypeptide can also start folding during protein synthesis. The ribosome facilitates decoding by inducing the binding of complementary tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brownian Motor
Brownian motors are nanoscale or molecular machines that use chemical reactions to generate directed motion in space. The theory behind Brownian motors relies on the phenomenon of Brownian motion, random motion of particles suspended in a fluid (a liquid or a gas) resulting from their collision with the fast-moving molecules in the fluid. On the nanoscale (1–100 nm), viscosity dominates inertia, and the extremely high degree of thermal noise in the environment makes conventional directed motion all but impossible, because the forces impelling these motors in the desired direction are minuscule when compared to the random forces exerted by the environment. Brownian motors operate specifically to utilise this high level of random noise to achieve directed motion, and as such are only viable on the nanoscale. The concept of Brownian motors is a recent one, having only been coined in 1995 by Peter Hänggi, but the existence of such motors in nature may have existed for a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extracellular Matrix
In biology, the extracellular matrix (ECM), also called intercellular matrix (ICM), is a network consisting of extracellular macromolecules and minerals, such as collagen, enzymes, glycoproteins and hydroxyapatite that provide structural and biochemical support to surrounding cells. Because multicellularity evolved independently in different multicellular lineages, the composition of ECM varies between multicellular structures; however, cell adhesion, cell-to-cell communication and differentiation are common functions of the ECM. The animal extracellular matrix includes the interstitial matrix and the basement membrane. Interstitial matrix is present between various animal cells (i.e., in the intercellular spaces). Gels of polysaccharides and fibrous proteins fill the interstitial space and act as a compression buffer against the stress placed on the ECM. Basement membranes are sheet-like depositions of ECM on which various epithelial cells rest. Each type of connective tissue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helmholtz Coil
A Helmholtz coil is a device for producing a region of nearly uniform magnetic field, named after the German physicist Hermann von Helmholtz. It consists of two electromagnets on the same axis, carrying an equal electric current in the same direction. Besides creating magnetic fields, Helmholtz coils are also used in scientific apparatus to cancel external magnetic fields, such as the Earth's magnetic field. Description A Helmholtz pair consists of two identical circular magnetic coils that are placed symmetrically along a common axis, one on each side of the experimental area, and separated by a distance h equal to the radius R of the coil. Each coil carries an equal electric current in the same direction. Setting h=R, which is what defines a Helmholtz pair, minimizes the nonuniformity of the field at the center of the coils, in the sense of setting \partial^B/\partial x^ = 0 (meaning that the first nonzero derivative is \partial^B/\partial x^ as explained below), but leave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helical Nanomotor
Helical may refer to: * Helix, the mathematical concept for the shape * Helical engine, a proposed spacecraft propulsion drive * Helical spring, a coilspring * Helical plc, a British property company, once a maker of steel bar stock * Helicoil A threaded insert, also known as a threaded bushing, is a fastener element that is inserted into an object to add a threaded hole. They may be used to repair a stripped threaded hole, provide a durable threaded hole in a soft material, place a t ..., a mechanical thread repairing insert * H-el-ical//, stage name for Hikaru, Japanese singer {{disambig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adenosine Triphosphate
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a nucleoside triphosphate that provides energy to drive and support many processes in living cell (biology), cells, such as muscle contraction, nerve impulse propagation, and chemical synthesis. Found in all known forms of life, it is often referred to as the "molecular unit of currency" for intracellular energy transfer. When consumed in a Metabolism, metabolic process, ATP converts either to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or to adenosine monophosphate (AMP). Other processes regenerate ATP. It is also a Precursor (chemistry), precursor to DNA and RNA, and is used as a coenzyme. An average adult human processes around 50 kilograms (about 100 mole (unit), moles) daily. From the perspective of biochemistry, ATP is classified as a nucleoside triphosphate, which indicates that it consists of three components: a nitrogenous base (adenine), the sugar ribose, and the Polyphosphate, triphosphate. Structure ATP consists of three parts: a sugar, an amine base ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
