Sub-Sub-Sub-Compact: The First International Nanocar Race Starts Today

Ronnie Schreiber
by Ronnie Schreiber

Tata’s Nano is a very small car, but it’s more than brobdingnagian compared to the vehicles racing this weekend in Toulouse, France.

The first international nanocar race — organized by the materials scientists at Centre Nationnal de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and its Centre d’Elaboration de Matériaux et d’Etudes Structurales (CEMES) — brings motorsports down to the molecular level. Four teams will compete under the observation of a special, four-tipped scanning tunneling microscope on a racecourse made of gold atoms just 100 nanometers long.

Nanocars, first developed in 2005 by James Tour at Rice University, are molecules made up of about 700 carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, with an H-shaped backbone and four spherical wheels held to the frame by relatively weak carbon bonds that allow them to rotate. Later, chemist Bernard L. Feringa motorized the nanocars, powering them by electrons supplied by a scanning tunneling microscope.

While a race may be fun, this is serious science. Feringa was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work.

Considering a nanocar’s top end is about 5 nm/hr — that’s 3.1069e to the minus 13 power miles per hour — the race is really more of a scientific experiment and technological challenge than a test of speed. The object of the event, besides publicizing the research, is to greater perfect the observation and control of molecular scale machines. As we move into the future, such tiny machines may find use in making larger machines in atom-by-atom construction of both electrical circuits and structural shapes. Molecule machines may also help capture and store energy, or safely dispose industrial waste. Some of those machines will work independently and others collectively.

The Nanocar Race provides an opportunity for scientists to try methods for observing and maneuvering the molecular machines in real time.

The idea for the race started with CNRS researcher Christian Joachim, who will act as race director, and Gwénaël Rapenne, a professor of chemistry at Université Toulouse. Nine teams applied to race, but there was a pre-race competition [dare we call it qualifying? —Ed] to prove teams could deposit and visualize their racing cars under the microscope and meet criteria for molecular structure and the propulsion mechanism. Six teams were selected to compete and four have made it to the starting line for the race, scheduled to begin April 28 and run for 36 hours. Yes, the little racecars in Toulouse will run 12 hours longer than the big cars at LeMans. The race will be streamed live on the Nanocar Race YouTube channel.

As mentioned, the course is 100 nanometers long, but it seems it’s more of a drag race than a road course, as it isn’t a circuit. It starts with a 20 nm straightaway that goes into a 45° turn, followed by a 30 nm straight, another 45° turn, and a finishing straight of 20 nm. The race rules say it has a 36 hour maximum duration, so my guess is the winner is whichever machine crosses the finish line first or is in the lead at the 36-hour mark. Rules allow for a car to be replaced in case of an accident. Pushing a car is prohibited but I suppose you’d need molecular scale hands to do so. Each team will be given their own sector of the gold racing surface and 6 hours to clean it prior to the race start.

No word on what the teams’ racing budgets, but I suspect these little cars cost more to build and setup than most 24 Hours of LeMons cars.

Ronnie Schreiber
Ronnie Schreiber

Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, the original 3D car site.

More by Ronnie Schreiber

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 8 comments
  • Lou_BC Lou_BC on Apr 28, 2017

    Wow. How do you change the tires? I found it challenging putting together a 1/24 Revell kit.

  • RHD RHD on Apr 28, 2017

    VW's "Think Small" ad campaign has been taken very, very seriously.

  • ToolGuy "Honey, someone is trying to cross the moat again"
  • Rochester "better than Vinfast" is a pretty low bar.
  • TheMrFreeze That new Ferrari looks nice but other than that, nothing.And VW having to put an air-cooled Beetle in its display to try and make the ID.Buzz look cool makes this classic VW owner sad 😢
  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
Next