Propulsion with a Rotating Elastic Nanorod

Manoel Manghi (1) , Xaver Schlagberger , Roland R. Netz

1 PhyStat - Physique Statistique des Systèmes Complexes (LPT)

The dynamics of a rotating elastic filament is investigated using Stokesian simulations. The filament, straight and tilted with respect to its rotation axis for small driving torques, undergoes at a critical torque a strongly discontinuous shape bifurcation to a helical state. It induces a substantial forward propulsion whatever the sense of rotation: a nanomechanical force-rectification device is established.

Domaines: Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]; Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Manoel Manghi, Xaver Schlagberger, Roland R. Netz. Propulsion with a Rotating Elastic Nanorod. Physical Review Letters, 2006, 96, pp.068101. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.068101⟩. ⟨hal-00123818⟩