The flow of optical power in and around the seven-nanoparticle "gear" of the optical matter machine. Courtesy: N Scherer A new device that converts laser light into mechanical work could be used to ...

More than 2,000 years ago, Greek artisans built a compact machine of interlocking gears that could track the heavens with a precision that still unsettles modern engineers. The corroded fragments of ...

WASHINGTON -- Researchers have developed a tiny new machine that converts laser light into work. These optically powered machines self-assemble and could be used for nanoscale manipulation of tiny ...

In such machines, when one gear is turned, a smaller interlocking gear will spin in the opposite direction. The optical matter machine uses circularly polarized light from a laser to create a ...