title: Self-starting micromotors in a bacterial bath.
abstract: Micromotors pushed by biological entities, such as motile bacteria, constitute a fascinating way to convert chemical energy into mechanical work at the micrometer scale. Here we show, by using numerical simulations, that a properly designed asymmetric object can be spontaneously set into the desired motion when immersed in a chaotic bacterial bath. Our findings open the way to conceive new hybrid microdevices exploiting the mechanical power production of bacterial organisms. Moreover, the system provides an example of how, in contrast with equilibrium thermal baths, the irreversible chaotic motion of active particles can be rectified by asymmetric environments.
authors.affiliation: Research Center SMC INFM-CNR, Università di Roma Sapienza, I-00185, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Angelani
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Leonardo
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruocco
mesh_terms: D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D005407:Flagella / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D013550:Swimming
chemical_list: D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins