A closer look
Building a functional engine out of a single molecule sounds like science fiction until you realize scientists already won a Nobel Prize for it. Bernard Feringa synthesized chiral molecules that continuously rotate in one direction when hit by ultraviolet light. While one spinning molecule doesn't do much, the magic happens in supramolecular assemblies. When you drop these tiny motors into a liquid crystal, their spinning motion forces the entire macroscopic fluid structure to twist, physically demonstrating microscopic chirality dictating macroscopic behavior.
