Trio win Nobel chemistry prize for tiniest machines

Three European scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Oct. 5 for developing the world's smallest machines, work that could revolutionize computer technology and lead to a new type of battery.

Frenchman Jean-Pierre Sauvage, British-born Fraser Stoddart and Dutch scientist Bernard "Ben" Feringa share the 8 million-kronor ($930,000) prize for the "design and synthesis of molecular machines," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

Machines at the molecular level are 1,000th the width of a human hair and have taken chemistry to a new dimension, the academy said. Molecular machines "will most likely be used in the development of things such as new materials, sensors and energy storage systems."

Stoddart has already developed a molecule-based computer chip with 20 kB memory. Researchers believe chips so small may revolutionize computer technology the way silicon-based transistors once did, the academy said.

Feringa's research group in 2011 built a "nanocar," a minuscule vehicle with four molecular motors as wheels.
The academy said the laureates' work has also inspired other researchers to build increasingly advanced molecular machinery, including "a robot that can grasp and connect amino acids" in 2013. Researchers are also hoping to develop a new kind of battery using this technology.

Sauvage, 71, is professor emeritus at the University of Strasbourg and director of research emeritus at France's National Center for Scientific Research. 

Sauvage's wife choked back tears as she absorbed the news. "Jean-Pierre won the Nobel prize," she said, her voice trembling as she spoke on multiple telephones at once ringing with news of the prize.

Speaking later to French TV channel itele, Sauvage...