What Do Nanomachines Look Like?

When you hear about nanotechnology (and you will hear about it more and more since it's moving into the mainstream of manufacturing), you might wonder what a nanomachine might look like. Since you can't see them with your unaided eye, you have to look at highly magnified images. But for the folks whose job it is to design the tiny parts for the nanomachines, some powerful design software comes into play.

Nano-sized machine parts are the size of molecules and are made up of atoms that are visible in the animated design views. They operate by virtue of the tiny forces that exist at the atomic level or matter. To help you visualize what some of these working parts might look like, here are a few examples:



This is a small bearing that has 2 components and 206 atoms.



Pictured above is a differential gear.



This is a neon pump.

These animations give an idea of what nanomachines will be made of and how they will work. Stay tuned. (More animations can be found at Nanorex)

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