Let There Be Light, or Quantum Dots

Funny how some scientific ideas result from "accidents". Think Newton and the proverbial apple. From Newton's earthly mechanics, we have progressed to quantum mechanics:

Michael Bowers, a graduate student at Vanderbilt University, was just trying to make really small quantum dots, [when some spilled across a table]. Quantum dots contain anywhere from 100 to 1,000 electrons. They're easily excited bundles of energy, and the smaller they are, the more excited they get. Each dot in Bower's particular batch was exceptionally small, containing only 33 or 34 pairs of atoms. When you shine a light on quantum dots or apply electricity to them, they react by producing their own light, normally a bright, vibrant color. But when Bowers shined a laser on his batch of dots, something unexpected happened. "I was surprised when a white glow covered the table," Bowers said. "The quantum dots were supposed to emit blue light, but instead they were giving off a beautiful white glow."

Thomas Edison would be in a spin-state in his grave if he knew about this. Read the whole article here. Tag:science