Researchers build a motor from one molecule shaped like an Archimedes screw
Electricity turns a spiral molecule whose direction flips when the voltage is reversed, a Nature study reports.
Scientists made a motor from a single spiral-shaped molecule. It spins when electric current passes through, and spins the other way if the electricity is reversed. It is a lab experiment, not something you can buy.
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Why it matters
It shows an electric machine can work at the scale of one molecule. Practical uses are far off; this is a lab test on a single molecule.
Watch: a lovely idea about machines the size of a molecule.
The details
- A team at the University of Augsburg worked with the Weizmann Institute and the University of Copenhagen; the study appeared in Nature in 2026.
- The molecule is spiral like an Archimedes screw; electrons passing through make it rotate, and reversing the voltage reverses the direction.
- The researchers held it between two gold tips sharpened to atomic size; it measures a few millionths of a millimetre.
- Simulations suggest rotation can raise electrical conductivity by up to about 100 times.
- Continuous rotation starts only above a certain voltage, and the explanation relies heavily on simulation because the experiment measured only current.
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