Have you ever thought that maybe tiny cellular particles can propel a machine that's like a thousand or a million times larger than them? Interestingly, a team of researchers from Columbia University may have answered this question already.

Just this week, Ozgur Sahin and his colleagues introduced two innovative inventions that can turn heads and fuel minds to think of the endless possibilities their experiments can lead to.

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Using bacterial spores and water evaporation, Sahin and his team managed to propel a tiny car. However, it isn't something that humans can use yet, NBC News has learned.

The premise of the invention is actually quite simple. So simple that others may have not seen the potential in using evaporation as a means of utilizing bacterial spores to the maximum.

What propelled the team of researchers to think of this invention was their discovery on how certain bacterial spores react to water.

The eureka moment for the team was when they found out that bacterial spores tend to expand when they absorb water. Then, they shrink again once the water they have absorbed dries out.

Given their discovery, Sahin and his colleagues decided to put their knowledge into action by combining the energy billions of bacterial spores can generate using the said mechanism to power their experiments.

The setup of the first experiment is not that complicated. The scientists came up with a design wherein moist air can easily enter and exit a set of shutters. They call the device "evaporation engines" since on one end moist air can enter and on the other end wet air gets expelled, (e) Science News reports.

Sahin even compared the setup to something that occurs within the human body. According to him, the mechanism is similar to that of muscle movement. 

To make the most out of their newfound knowledge, they also came up with a rotary engine. For this setup, they came up with a device wherein only one side gets exposed to moist air. They even used this setup to drive a tiny car.

Given the interesting experiments they made, Sahin said, "Evaporation is a fundamental force of nature. It's everywhere, and it's more powerful than other forces like wind and waves."

Sahin's desire to utilize bacterial spores in creating advancements in technology began almost 10 years ago when he participated in a study that focused on bacterial spores, as per Washington Post.

Today, he and his team are excited for the limitless possibilities their invention can lead them to. Sahin even shared that he's already looking into using his knowledge to create a larger version of the second setup so as to generate electricity that's just as efficient and powerful as that of a wind turbine's output.

As of late, the devices they made are already capable of turning on light bulbs. How knows what these devices could power up next?

TagsEvaporation Engines, Evaporation, bacteria, Invention, Science