Floating Microdisks Rotated by Molecular Motors

Abstract

AbstractA possibility of utilization of molecular motors for creation of unidirectional rotation of tiny disks floating on a surface is considered theoretically. The bottom side of the disk is covered with grafted motors combined with flat blades submerges into a viscous liquid for torque generation. When exposes to UV‐light, the motors start to rotate all in the same direction, and they transfer their rotation to the blades creating a mechanical torque that turns the disk. The disk angular velocity scales as ω ∼ Ω L/R where Ω is motor angular velocity, L is the length of the oars, R is the micro‐disk size. A competition between directional ballistic‐type rotation and rotative diffusion is considered. The setup can be used for evaluation of the primary motor parameters: the motor rotation speed Ω = 2πf, and the maximum motor torque load Mmax.