Luisen Zela-Koort
Natural Factories: Flagellum, 2025
Sculpted and carved limestone
28 x 28 x 40 cm
11 x 11 x 15 3/4 in.
11 x 11 x 15 3/4 in.
Unique
Courtesy of the artist, Brooke Benington and N.A.S.A.L
Further images
Once thought impossible, the bacterial flagellum is indeed a motor, a remarkable rotary nanomachine that allows bacteria to move. It uses chemical energy to rotate a helical filament, propelling the...
Once thought impossible, the bacterial flagellum is indeed a motor, a remarkable rotary nanomachine that allows bacteria to move. It uses chemical energy to rotate a helical filament, propelling the bacterium through its environment. This intricate system, once considered unexplainable from a biological perspective, is now a well-studied example of natural engineering. Carved in marble, with its tail rotating gently, it puts in perspective modern industrial advances, and those yet unseen for us to discover.
