The rolling action was confirmed by Professor Kevin Kelly, also at Rice, by pulling the molecule with the tip of the STM.

The nanocar was developed at Rice University’s Richard E. Smalley Institute Nanoscale Science and Technology by the team of James Tour, Kevin Kelly and other colleagues involved in its research.

[4][9][10] The rear wheels are spherical fullerene molecules, or buckyballs, composed of sixty carbon atoms each, which are attracted to a dragstrip that is made up of a very fine layer of gold.

The technology can be used in manufacturing computer circuits and electronic components, or in conjunction with pharmaceuticals inside the human body.

[11] Tour also speculated that the knowledge gained from the nanocar research would help build efficient catalytic systems in the future.

Inelastic electron tunnelling induces conformational changes in the rotors and propels the molecule across a copper surface.

By changing the direction of the rotary motion of individual motor units, the self-propelling molecular 'four-wheeler' structure can follow random or preferentially linear trajectories.

This design provides a starting point for the exploration of more sophisticated molecular mechanical systems, perhaps with complete control over their direction of motion.