The nanofish is made of gold and nickel parts linked by silver hinges. The “head” and “tail” are made of gold, while the“body” is made of nickel. Each segment is about 800 nanometers long (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter), The New Scientist media outlet reported.

How does it work?

An oscillating magnetic field is applied to make the nickel parts move from side to side, in turn swinging the head and tail and creating movement – essentially, swimming. The magnetic field can also be used to set a specific direction for the nanofish.

The research behind the amazing fish was headed by Jinxing Li at the University of California, San Diego, who is now looking for applications for the tiny swimming invention, particularly medical uses.

RT