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Materials

Electric Field Swings Tiny Pendulum

September 5, 2005 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 83, Issue 36

Using a single-walled carbon nanotube as both a mechanical support and a torsional spring, scientists have built a tiny, electrically controlled pendulum (Science 2005, 309, 1539). Jannik C. Meyer and Siegmar Roth of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research and Matthieu Paillet of France's University of Montpellier II used lithographic and etching techniques to attach a relatively large metal block onto the wall of a carbon nanotube. Applying an electric field to the system causes the nanotube to twist, moving the metal block away from its original position by almost 180°. When the electric field is removed, the object returns to its original position. Meyer's group thinks that the pendulum could be used as a movable micromirror or as an important component in nanomechanical devices that require continuous tilting. The researchers also note that other small perturbances can start the pendulum swinging, making the device a potentially useful component for nanoscale force sensors.

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