They said they had detected and measured a force that comes into play at the molecular level using certain combinations of molecules that repel one another.
The repulsion can be used to hold molecules aloft, in essence levitating them, creating virtually friction-free parts for tiny devices, the researchers said.
Federico Capasso, an applied physicist at Harvard University in Massachusetts, whose study appears in the journal Nature, said he believed that detection of this force opened the possibility of a whole new class of tiny gadgets.
The team, including researchers at the National Institutes of Health, has not yet levitated an object, but Capasso said he now knows how to do it. "This is an experiment we are sure will work," he said. His team has already filed for patents.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090107/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_nanotech_levitation
Seriously, guys! This is exciting. A frictionless device? Think of the battery life that will be saved! (I'm just guessing at what devices might be made.)
The Hound of Hell and Destruction For All Who Oppose My Will
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