Model Car 80,000 Times Smaller Than Human Hair

In their free time, some scientists make model cars out of atoms. They use "buckyballs" as wheels and these "cars"are no wider than a single strand of DNA. Uff da! When I was in high school I was interested in micro-biology. But at that time the smallest thing was an atom and you could not really see one. Now they are putting atoms together into specialized molecule's and making toys out of them. Actual toys that the wheels turn and move on a surface.

About 15 years ago man discovered that there were more than just two types of carbon molecules. They have been working, since then, to learn how these new forms can be used. There are buckyballs, nanotubes, and other things with strange names, and they are about to break out of the labs and into the main stream. The consequences are going to be amazing.

For example, they are talking about braiding nanotubes together and making a long "cable" and tethering a space station to it like a string attached to a spinning basketball. The intention is to send elevators up and down the cable into outer space. Sound fantastic? Most scientists think that such a thing might be workable.

Stay tuned. Life is moving fast. Catch up on your reading here.