Fun With Nano-Technology: Making A Useful Nano-Engine

Nano-technology is all the rage these days. You can't pick up a scientific journal without some mention of new discoveries or machines made that could fit on the head of a pin. But how much of this stuff is really useful to the average household?

Using materials mostly found around the house or dad's workshop you can build your own nano-engine. This is something that could be really used for building miniature models or powering an army of small robots to help mother clean the kitchen or even your room!

Scientific Principles:
Before getting started let's look at the principles of nano-technology. A nano is a billionth of a meter, which means whatever we make has to be really small. The advantages are that you'll be able to make lots of these without taking up too much space or using a lot of materials.

Stuff You'll Need:
To make our nano-engine we'll need a bunch of gears, a power source and a way of holding it all together. The gears are the easiest to make, so let's start with those. Obtain a few metal filings from a source of well-tempered steel. The butcher knife in the kitchen would be a good source.

Building Our Nano-Engine:
Using the laser we made in our last installment cut teeth into the filings. Make a variety of sizes for different applications: 18, 36 and 72 teeth are a good starting point. For miniature models using direct drive you may want to hardwire in an axle. Fashion one from a longer filing held on father's lathe. You may have to modify the holding mechanism to handle something this small. A bit of chewing gum or sealing wax should do the trick!

One of the beauties of nano-technology is the mixing of biology with traditional machinery. We'll mirror this exciting development with the housing of our engine. Get a clipping from one of kitty's claws. File down to size and hollow out with a pin or your pocket-knife.

For our power source we'll take a watch battery. It's still much too large for our tiny engine, so cut a tiny cross-section using dad's table saw. Get dad to help with holding the battery as is goes through the blade. We could also make a potato battery, but they don't carry as much power. Attach the battery to the gears using a drop of melted tin, and the gears to the housing with the glue gun. Don't use too much!

Applications For Our New Engine:
With enough gears and proper aspect ratios you could use your new engine to move the sofa, but practically you'll want to use it for smaller devices. How about a miniature railway set? Or powering a radio-controlled plastic bug across the bathtub? With enough preserverence you could use it to build an army of worker robots. Your imagination is the limit.

Kent's Archive of Science

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DISCLAIMER:

Kent's column is intended for amusement purposes only. Always wear gloves when you use a glue-gun, never lick live human organs, and never use a laser to cut a sandwich.

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