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Scientists have 3D printed a microscopic Star Trek USS Voyager spaceship which itself “swims” through liquids.
A team of physicists from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands created the Intrepid-class spaceship which is 15 micrometers (0.015 millimeters) long.
The Miniature Voyager is part of the research being conducted to help understand how shape affects the movements and interactions of microswimmers.
Micro swimmers are tiny bacteria-like particles that can push themselves through liquids through chemical reactions.
Scientists 3D printed microscopic Star Trek USS Voyager spaceship that “ swims ” through liquids on its own
They have an outer layer of platinum that reacts with the hydrogen peroxide solution into which they are placed and then moves them through the liquid.
The team decided to replicate the USS Voyager because one of the studio’s co-authors, Jonas Hoecht, is a huge Star Trek fan.
Speak Against CNN Study researcher Samia Ouhajji said: “By studying synthetic micro swimmers, we want to understand biological micro swimmers.
This understanding could help develop new vehicles for drug delivery.
“For example, microrobots that swim autonomously and carry medicines to the desired location in the human body.”
Scientists found they could print any type of micro swimmer, including boats and spaceships.
The Miniature Voyager is part of the research conducted to help understand how shape affects the movements and interactions of microswimmers
The team decided to replicate the USS Voyager (pictured in the series) because one of the studio’s co-authors, Jonas Hoecht, is a huge Star Trek fan.
By printing the different shapes, experts can discern the impact of different sizes on the movement of swimming particles.
The team decided to replicate the USS Voyager after one of the team members revealed that he was a fan of the series.
Researcher Samia explained: “In the last week of his project, I promised him that we could print any shape he wanted.
As a huge Star Trek fan, he chose the USS Voyager. Furthermore, it was also to show that the type of shapes we can print is almost unlimited. ‘
In their design, the physicists also printed shapes such as boats, trimers and propellers, with the shape of each object influencing their swimming behavior.
The study will help understand how microswimmers can be used to purify wastewater or deliver drugs to the body.
The experiment will help scientists learn more about biological swimmers, such as sperm and bacteria, and how they travel through the body.
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