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Scientists have created the first molecule that can move in a straight line by itself on a flat surface by mimicking how a person walks. The molecule—9,10-dithioanthracene, or DTA—is made of a coal-tar derivative linked to a pair of sulfurous organic compounds. When heated, the linked compounds moved in alternation so only one was lifted from a copper surface at a time. The planted “foot” kept the molecule from stumbling or veering off course, even when pushed or pulled with a fine probe.
In tests, DTA took some 10,000 steps without the assistance of rails or grooves and without losing its balance once. The investigators at the University of California, Riverside, and their colleagues suggest that the project could lead to molecular computers, with DTA or like molecules operating in nano-abacuses. Peruse the October 14 Physical Review Letters for more details.