Scientists Create the First Nanomachine  February 1, 2007  An
idea conceived by one of the world’s greatest scientists nearly
150 years ago has finally been realised with a tiny machine that
could eventually lead to lasers moving objects remotely.  James
Clerk Maxwell, who is ranked along Isaac Newton and Albert
Einstein for his contributions to science, imagined an atom-
sized device — known as Maxwell’s Demon — that could trap
molecules as they move in a specific direction.  Now scientists
at the University of Edinburgh, inspired by Maxwell’s thought
experiment in 1867, have been able to create such a
“nanomachine” for the first time with their own “demon” inside
it to ensnare the molecules as they move.  The work, published
in the 1 February issue of the journal Nature, could ultimately
lead to scientists harnessing the energy of the molecules to
displace solid objects from a distance.  Professor David Leigh,
of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry, said: “Our
machine has a device — or “Ëœdemon