Artificial swimmers

In Section 9.1.3, we introduced a filament made of superparamagnetic colloidal particles that are linked to each other by double-stranded DNA. We have modeled this filament as a bead-spring configuration with bending elasticity as described in Section 9.2.3. In addition, we have to include now the forces on the beads due to the dipole-dipole interaction induced by the external magnetic field. Our model very well describes the constructed artificial swimmer [4] and allows to explore the filament s capacity for transporting fluid. 

Figure 9.1 To model the artificial swimmer, a largerload particle is attached to the filament. It is actuated by a magnetic field whose direction oscillates about the z-axis with (p(f) =...

A large membrane pack of this type will act like an artificial gill, permitting a swimmer to breathe like a fish and remain submerged for much longer periods of time than are possible with scuba equipment. Speculative fiction has man returning to live in the seas, and this type of application may make it possible. Their application in spacecraft is obvious as a part of a continuously recycled air support system. The oxygen permeability of silicone materials is just one example of the selective permeability of plastics. 

R. Dreyfus Magnetic Filaments Application to the Conception of Force Sensor and Artificial Microscopic Swimmers. Ph.D thesis, Paris VI University (2005). 

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