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Prototype Boat Moves On Water with No Moving Parts

by Tim Stevens on January 22, 2009 at 02:47 PM

There are many ways that boats can get themselves through the water, but the vast majority rely on things that move. Whether they be fluttering sails or spinning propellers powered by solar panels, some sort of motion is required to get the boat headed in the right direction. But, that's not the case in a prototype boat developed at the University of Pittsburgh, which has no moving parts at all yet, as you can see in the above video, has no problem zipping over the water.

The so-called "mini-boat," which is only 2 centimeters long, relies on the surface tension of water to get from place to place. Conceptually, it's similar to how small insects twisting their bodies to be pushed along by the surface of the water. In this case, electrodes on either end slightly changing the surface tension on either end of the boat, moving it on one direction or the other. It remains to be seen whether this model could be scaled up to the size where it could hold a person (or perhaps larger things), but at the very least it'd make a heck of a ride for your pet hamster. [From: NetworkWorld]

Tags: boat, mini boat, MiniBoat, surface tension, SurfaceTension, university of pittsburgh, UniversityOfPittsburgh, video

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