This is a simulation of Drexler and Merkle’s famous molecular planetary gear, featured as an illustration in many articles on molecular nanotechnology. It was created using a beta version of Nanorex’s NanoEngineer-1, an open source molecular modeling program that is scheduled for release in the very near future.

The gear simulation was done by Tom Moore of Machine Phase. Tom’s next project will be to simulate the neon pump from Nanosystems. Work like this is a visually fantastic and technically important intermediary step between design and implementation of nanomachine components.

Researchers today created the first thermal nanomotor ever. This device, powered by changes in temperature, can ferry a payload from one place to another or rotate on its axis like a rotor. Concentrated arrays of nanomotors could provide power densities far in excess of today’s best motors. The difference could be so large that this technology appears like magic to us, at least initially.