No matter what type of product is being assembled, conveyors are an essential ingredient of mass production. Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, CA) have transformed carbon nanotubes into conveyor belts capable of ferrying atom-sized particles to microscopic worksites.
By applying a small electrical current to a carbon nanotube, they moved indium particles along the tube "like auto parts on an assembly line," says Chris Regan, a researcher in the laboratory's materials sciences division. "It lays the groundwork for the high-throughput construction of atomic-scale optical, electronic and mechanical devices that will power the burgeoning field of nanotechnology.