Expanding Polymer-Coated Gold Nanoparticles

Physicists at the Cavendish Laboratory (University of Cambridge) have created a nano-scale “piston engine” that might, one day, power many medical devices, including internal robots. “The device consists of charged gold nanoparticles within a polymer that bends and relaxes in response to heat changes. The polymer absorbs water when cooled, expanding in size, while heating the gold nanoparticles using a laser raises the temperature of the polymer, shedding the absorbed water and relaxing in response. This process happens in a fraction of a second, and as long as a laser is made to flip between being on and off, the engine keeps working.” Over the years, Cavendish scientists have won 29 Nobel Prizes, and it’s not out of the question that this invention would win #30.      MORE

Image Credit:   Yi Ju, University of Cambridge Research News