Nanowires can lift liquids without power

New research carried out at MIT and elsewhere has demonstrated for the first time that when inserted into a pool of liquid, nanowires — wires that are only a few nanometers (billionths of a meter) across — naturally draw the liquid upward in a thin film that coats the surface of the wire. The finding could have applications in microfluidic devices, biomedical research and inkjet printers. In each video, a single solid nanowire or a network of nanowires are dipped into liquid. Because of capillary act