Carbon nanotubes can be sent spinning by passing an electrical current through them, Steven Bailey and his colleagues at Lancaster University, UK, say.
Their calculations show that electrons passing through a nanotube with a typical 'chiral' structure, in which helical ribbons of carbon hexagons wind around the tube axis, will pick up angular momentum on the way and create a twisting torque on the tube. For a tube nested inside the sleeve of a wider one, this force should be big enough to overcome frictional resistance and drive rotation, auguring well for nanoscale drills and motors.
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Nanotechnology: Electron windmills. Nature 454, 5 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/454005d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/454005d