Self-assembling fluidic machines

This letter describes dynamic self-assembly of two-component rotors floating at the interface between liquid and air into simple, reconfigurable mechanical systems (machines). The rotors are powered by an external, rotating magnetic field, and their positions within the interface are controlled by: (i) repulsive hydrodynamic interactions between them and (ii) by localized magnetic fields produced by an array of small electromagnets located below the plane of the interface. The mechanical functions of the machines depend on the spatiotemporal sequence of activation of the electromagnets. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.