Miniature motors

Instead of relying on a magnetic field, other researchers are creating microrobots powered by tiny motors that could swim through the body and help with diagnosing and treating certain conditions. Dr. James Friend and a team of mechanical engineers at Monash University in Australia have already built a liner motor the size of a salt crystal, but are now working to create an even smaller one the width of two human hairs.. Its propulsion mechanism is similar to what the bacteria E. coli uses to swim through the body. A rotating motor whirls the flagella around its axis, much like a stockwhip, and if it is in a liquid, it screws its way through the fluid. "Imagine a pizza maker who takes a round ball of dough and, as he throws it into the air, he spins it so it turns into a helical motion. Well, our motor does the same thing, except it