Crowd Forcing: Random Movement of Bacteria Drives Gears
Monday, December 14, 2009 - 16:21
in Physics & Chemistry
The collective random motion of tiny bacteria can be harnessed to turn much larger mechanical gears in a preestablished direction, a new study demonstrates. The research, set to be published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , presents a new spin on the concept of the so-called Brownian ratchet, in which arbitrary fluctuations generate directed motion to power tiny mechanical systems. [More]