Nanodumbbell
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A nanodumbell is a pair of spheres attached together that may be made of silica or zinc oxide.[1]
They have been used in a Purdue University experiment where they were made to spin in a vacuum at 60 billion rotations per minute.[2]
The nanodumbbells are first created in the lab using a hydro-thermal process. The resulting dumbbell consists of two joined silica spheres, making it 320 nanometers long and around 170 nanometers wide in size.[2]
Nanodumbbells are also being studied for possible use in photodynamic therapy, a way of treating cancer.[3]
Experiment
Highly focused circularly polarized light laser light bombards the levitated dumbbell to set it spinning.[2]