>> ONE OF THE SYSTEMS
WE'RE TRYING TO STUDY
IS BASICALLY A GIANT
COLLOIDAL MOLECULE.
SO WE TRIED TO USE
COLLOIDAL PARTICLE
TO MAKE STRUCTURES THAT
SHOW CHIRALITY.
YOU KNOW THAT CHIRALITIC USE
IS OF GREAT INTEREST
AND ONE OF THE REASONS
RELATE TO THE ORIGIN OF LIFE.
MOST OFTEN, BIOLOGICAL
MOLECULES IN OUR BODY ARE IN
THE LIVING SYSTEM ACTUALLY
THEY'RE NOT JUST A MIXTURE
OF LEFT HAND AND RIGHT HAND.
UH, SOME MOLECULES
ARE PURELY JUST LEFT HAND
AND SOME MOLECULES
ARE PURELY JUST RIGHT HANDED.
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN
AT THE BEGINNING
OR AT THE ORIGIN OF LIFE?
THAT IS AN OUTSTANDING QUESTION
NOBODY KNOWS YET.
BUT PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT
SELECTIVE CHIRALITY AT
THE BEGINNING OF THE LIFE
PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE
IN TERMS OF THE EVOLUTION
OF, UH, LIVING SPECIES.
TECHNOLOGICALLY SPEAKING,
MATURISTS SHOWING CHIRALITY
IS ALSO GOING TO BE
QUITE IMPORTANT BECAUSE
THE INTERACTION WE SELECT.
AND YOU KNOW THAT'S
THE POLARIZABILITY OF LIFE
IS IMPORTANT AND NOW WE CAN
SHOW DIFFERENT PRACTICE
WHEN YOU HAVE
LEFT HANDED STRUCTURE
VERSUS RIGHT HANDED STRUCTURE.
BUT SOME DYNAMIC SPEAKING,
UH, LEFT HANDED STRUCTURE
AND RIGHT HANDED STRUCTURE,
THEY HAVE SAME
SOLAR DYNAMIC ENERGY.
SO IN THAT SENSE,
IF YOU JUST RELY, UM,
ON CLASSICAL SOLAR DYNAMICS
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE
A STRUCTURE THAT IS JUST
PURELY LEFT HANDED
OR PURELY RIGHT HANDED.
THE ONE WAY TO BREAK
THIS, UH, SYMMETRY IS TO USE
EXTERNAL FUSE AND TO UTILIZE
THE ACTIVE MOTION
OF THE STRUCTURES.
IN FACT, BY DOING THAT
WE CAN BREAK THE SYMMETRY
AND WE CAN MAKE THE STRUCTURES
THAT ONLY HAVE
ONE CHIRALITY NET.
SO THIS IS EXAMPLE THAT
YOU CAN-- IF YOU MOVE THE SYSTEM
FROM PASSIVE TO ACTIVE
YOU OPEN NEW WORLDS
THAT YOU CAN UTILIZE THOSE,
UH, MOTION-- A DYNAMIC MOTION
AND ACTIVE MOTION OF THOSE
BUILDING BLOCK
TO CREATE MATERIALS
THAT YOU WON'T BE ABLE
TO MAKE, UH, PREVIOUSLY.
WE ARE ALWAYS IMAGINING THAT
USING, UH, THOSE COLLOIDS
AS, UH, SMALL, UH,
LEGO PIECES AND TO MAKE
FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES.
LET THEM ASSEMBLE AND MAKE
FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES,
ALL RIGHT.
UH, PREVIOUSLY, WE RELIED ON
THE INTERACTION, UM, EQUIVALENT
INTERACTION BETWEEN
PARTICLES TO DO THAT JOB.
NOW, WHY NOT ENVISION THAT
WE CAN HAVE EACH OF THESE
LEGO PIECES BECOME
A SMALL MICROROBOT.
EACH OF THEM, UH, MOVES
AND IN THAT SENSE MAYBE
THEY WILL ASSEMBLE INTO
A STRUCTURE MUCH
MORE EFFICIENTLY COMPARED
WITH SOME PASSIVE, UM,
TYPES OF LEGO PIECES.
SO THAT'S WHY I THINK
ACTIVE MATTER,
UH, IS GOING TO BE
A VERY PART IN SUBJECT,
UM, IN THE SOFT MATTER
PHYSICS COMMUNITY TO
STARTING AND HAVING
THE CAPABILITY TO USE
EXTERNAL FIELDS TO DRIVE
THOSE BUILDING BLOCKS AND ADD
TO MICROGRAVITY ENVIRONMENT
THAT'S GOING TO BE
VERY IMPORTANT, UM, TO
THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.
WE FEEL VERY FORTUNATE
TO WORK WITH GREAT TEAMS
AT GLENN RESEARCH CENTER
WHO HELPED US TO TEST
OUR SAMPLES AND DEVICES
AND MAKE SURE EVERYTHING
IS GOOD BEFORE SENDING TO
THE SPACE STATION SO WE MINIMIZE
THE RISKS, UH, AT SPACE STATION.
THEY'RE EXTREMELY HELPFUL
AND THEY'RE VERY DEDICATED.