*World's smallest tweezers in the BBC news. Scientists have made a pair of tweezers capable of picking up objects just 500 nanometres (billionths of a metre) across. The achievement is being hailed as another milestone in the fast-developing field of nanotechnology in which researchers manipulate matter at the scale of individual atoms and molecules. (includes 3 gifs) http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_557000/557388.stm
Nanotube Nanotweezers is also the topic of an article in Science Dec 10, 1999 issue. (Vol. 268 No. 5447) Philip Kim and Charles M. Lieber (who also carries another section in the issue about the topic) Pre-article boldface: "Nanoscale electromechanical systems--nanotweezers--based on carbon nanotubes have been developed for manipulation and interrogation of nanostructures. Electronically conducting and mechanically robust carbon nanotubes were attached to independent electrodes fabricated on pulled glass micropipettes. Voltages applied to the electrodes closed and opened the free ends of the nanotubes, and this electromechanical response was simulated quantitatively using known nanotweezer structure and nanotube properties. The mechanical capabilities of the nanotweezers were demonstrated by grabbing and manipulating submicron clusters and nanowires. The conducting nanotube arms of the tweezers were also used for measuring the electrical properties of silicon carbide nanoclusters and gallium arsenide nanowires."
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
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