What the Heck Is That? Ordinary Things That Look Insane Microscopic!

Don’t Underestimate These Micro Chain Drives

Under a microscope, Sandia’s micro-chain drive looks like something straight out of a sci-fi gadget drawer. This miniature machine, smaller than a grain of sand, works just like a regular chain drive—links, sprockets, and all—but it’s built using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) tech.

Each piece is carefully etched from silicon and then assembled to move with extreme precision. It’s designed for tasks where full-size gears just won’t fit, like in micro-robots or advanced sensors. Despite its size, the engineering is no joke. The whole setup runs with the same mechanical logic as a bicycle chain—just shrunk to a level where tweezers look enormous.

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