Thursday 4 October 2012

FLAGELLUM MOTOR: world's smallest outboard


Who designed the world's smallest outboard motor?
It’s right under our noses but we can’t see it, so let's start with Ole Evenrudstuen (1877-1934), a Norwegian American who made the world's first 'Evinrude' - a design still seen in motors today.  Without an electron microscope, Ole would not have known about the Bacterial Flagellum Motor that can drive a single bacterium through liquid twice as fast as a cheetah, in terms of body length per second!  It's also water-cooled, has no need for that pesky gasoline tank and won’t injure you with propeller-strike.  

Here's what molecular biologists tell us about the Bacterial Flagellum Motor:
  • 40 structural parts, with 30 being unique
  • Incorporates rotor, stator, drive-shaft and U-joint
  • Flagellum (whip) propeller, with built-in temperature and chemical sensors
  • Powered by ‘proton motive force’
  • Water-cooled
  • Forward and reverse, with braking in a ¼ turn
  • How fast can it spin?  Red-line at 100,000 rpm?
  • Choose from various models available, including multiple propellers (flagella)
So you little beauty, how did you come to exist?

Some say you were made from bits and pieces cadged from other organic structures or perhaps you evolved from something now extinct. 
Or were you ‘scratch-built’ by a brilliant Engineer?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Dr. Michael J. Behe, biochemist, Lehigh University           
Scott Minnich, molecular biologist, University of   Idaho         wikipedia.com                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Photo credits:              
Evinrude in action / sportsfish.com.au
Flagellum motor / apologeticspress.com
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4 comments:

  1. Discovery Safari with Mr. K11 December 2012 at 16:56

    We wouldn’t know anything about this fascinating masterpiece of engineering if people like microbiologist Scott Minich hadn’t devoted years to researching it. Thanks Scott.

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  2. Joshua Hames26 March 2019 at 05:23

    Hello Mr. K, thank you so much for the work that you do, and especially for this article! I too am a writer who tries to spread truth in light of mass misconceptions, and I'm looking for a picture to include in my latest book showing a molecular motor. Do you know who owns the rights to the one placed in this article, or where I can find one in the public domain? Thanks so much for any help in advance.

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    Replies
    1. Discovery Safari with Mr. K26 March 2019 at 13:17

      Hi Joshua. Not often I see comments on my blogs so glad to hear from you. I used to be very careful about making image acknowledgements but these days don't bother. However it is a different story if you are writing a book. This image would have just been lifted from Google Images. If you send a friend request to a friend of mine on Facebook - Otangelo Grasso - a Swiss guy living in Brazil - he has access to some phenomenal images. Tell him I sent you.

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  3. Discovery Safari with Mr. K26 March 2019 at 13:21

    Hi Joshua. Thanks for your enquiry. I lifted this image from Google Images but you need to be more careful if publishing a book. I suggest you send a 'Friend Request' to Otangelo Grasso - he has access to phenomenal images and info. He's Swiss, living in Brazil.

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