Sensible Erection | Nanocar... now with an engine!

Thursday, 13 April 2006

quote [ In follow-on work to last year's groundbreaking invention of the world's first single-molecule car, chemists at Rice University have produced the first motorized version of their tiny nanocar. ]

Followup to this post. Soon enough an entirely new RC Car circuit will need to be invented.

Science Daily article about the same thing: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060412203521.htm

[sci&tech] [by wieder@4:05pmGMT] [+2 Interesting]

Comments

Electrohacker01 said @ 4:07pm GMT on 13th Apr
looks like a clodbuster in the thumb, with independant 4 wheel steering

jaxtraw said @ 4:23pm GMT on 13th Apr
I guess if your university is constructed inside a single grain of rice, the parking lot is very tiny.

Jallandhara said @ 7:11pm GMT on 13th Apr
And they'd sell three grains of rice worth of parking passes... Fuckers..

strangeffect said @ 4:39pm GMT on 13th Apr
where the hell am i supposed to pack my skis?

thumble said @ 4:45pm GMT on 13th Apr [Score:1 Funny]
It's not a true Rice car without subbies and a rear spoiler.

sacrelicious said @ 5:51pm GMT on 13th Apr [Score:1 Funny]
when I was a boy we didn't have engines in our nanocars like you spoiled kids today. we had to roll them under our own power ... uphill ... both ways!

and we liked it! WE LOVED IT!

dekebass said @ 7:09pm GMT on 13th Apr
what about the snow, glass, and commies?

Moleculor said @ 6:19pm GMT on 13th Apr [Score:2]
Initial tests carried out in a bath of toluene solvent found that the motor rotates as designed when it's struck by light. Follow-up tests are underway to determine whether the motorized car can be driven across a flat surface,

Ok, I'm putting the car onto the microscope here... HOLY FUCK?! Why'd you turn on the light? Now we'll NEVER find it!

scotticus said @ 7:19pm GMT on 13th Apr [Score:1]
Tour is a retard. His science is gimmicky and never has any practical value. He uses other peoples' chemistry to make molecules which vaguely resemble real world structures. He's also known for the massive waste of time: nanoputians. Chemical structures which when drawn a certain way, vaguely look like people. Yes, people fund this shit. No, I don't think they should.

It is thus no surprise that he signed a letter endorsing the teaching of intelligent design in schools.

yeah... he's that retarded.

There are so many brilliant accomplishments in science and chemistry on a daily basis, yet it's this bullshit that gets media attention because it's easy to understand.

sacrelicious said @ 7:48pm GMT on 13th Apr [Score:1 Informative]
sounds like someone isn't so good at seeing the big picture.

for example: he makes chemical structures that look like humans. okay, big deal, right? but if you can manipulate chemical structures to apear however you wish, then what you learn in the process are manipulation techniques useful to more practical ends. if nanotechnoledgy is ever to become a reality, parts will need to be fabricated in particular shapes to achieve the desired functionality. making shapes beyond that which is imediately practical at the moment can help make it easier for someone else in the field to make shapes that are.

and the whole of scientiffic endeavor has always been and will continue to be building on other peoples work. what's so terrible about that? as for his stance on evolution, well, it's his right to be wrong about something if he wants. nevertheless, it's imaterial since he is not a biologist.

my man james burke here makes it clear that fundemental scientiffic breakthroughs often arise from seemingly trivial pursuits. watch, read and learn:
the day the universe changed
connections
connections 2 (DVD)

strangeffect said @ 7:57pm GMT on 13th Apr [Score:1 Insightful]
what you said about inventing on the margin and all that, with a side of "calling someone's scientific endeavors retarded doesn't make you sound like a rocket surgeon either"

arrowhen said @ 7:58pm GMT on 13th Apr
+1 rocket surgeon!

scotticus said @ 8:38pm GMT on 13th Apr
he's retarded for supporting ID...

for the car thing he just gets a -1 lame

Nostrildamus said @ 7:58pm GMT on 13th Apr
Burke had a profound influence on my thinking, I saw those series he did as I was growing up, the last one being the most influential. Where is Burkie these days?

sacrelicious said @ 8:00pm GMT on 13th Apr
probably being old. more importantly: where the hell are the dvd's of The Day The Universe Changed and the first Connections series? those were far and away better than the connections series' that followed.

sacrelicious said @ 8:09pm GMT on 13th Apr
here's his wiki

scotticus said @ 8:36pm GMT on 13th Apr
no, no, I get it. I'm a scientist and organic chemist. Maybe I didn't make myself clear.

The DNA smily face guy -- that's impressive work. He developed a new method for nano-fabrication. Making "cars" by attaching spheres to sticks: waste of chemicals and unoriginal. It's not even impressive chemistry.

The point is, that his work is HIGHLY derivative, and the "nano" construction he uses is nothing more than routine organic chemistry, with the word nano slapped on it to make it sound important.

If nano technology is to become important, the name James Tour will not be part of the history books.

deadmaus said @ 9:58pm GMT on 13th Apr
And what have you done for humanity lately?