30 April 2009
Japanese scientists have made a chemical gel that can move about on its own like a worm.
The gel is made of polymers (chains of molecules from which plastic is made of) that change size depending on their chemical environment. The gel also changes colour as it moves about.
The 'worm' is only less than a millimetre in length, but could be used to build components for robots, replacing traditional ones which use electricity to help them move.
Check out the link below and see the colour-changing worm in action!
http://www.newscientist.com/articlevideo/dn16910/20949472001-chemical-caterpillar-points-to-electronicsfree-robots.html