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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Sun Spots"
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CONNECT...THE DOTS... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN STUDYING MINIATURE BITS OF SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL--EACH SMALLER THAN A HUMAN CELL--TO DETERMINE THEIR USE IN EVERYTHING FROM SENSORS TO MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS. ESPECIALLY PROMISING IS THEIR POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVING SOLAR ENERGY CELLS. BUT, NOT JUST ANY DOT WILL DO. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT FOUR-LEGGED QUANTUM DOTS--CALLED "TETRA-PODS"--HAVE A LEG UP ON "REGULAR" DOTS; THEY'RE MORE EFFICIENT AT CONVERTING SUNLIGHT INTO ELECTRICITY. BUT, ATTEMPTS TO PRODUCE THESE DOTS HAVE BEEN "SPOTTY", AT BEST. CURRENT METHODS YIELD FAR TOO MANY WITH ARMS OR LEGS THAT ARE TOO LONG, OR TOO SHORT--OR MISSING ALTOGETHER. NOW, RESEARCHERS AT RICE UNIVERSITY HAVE PERFECTED A CHEMICAL COMBINATION FOR CREATING THE MUCH-DESIRED FOUR-LEGGED DOTS ON A LARGER--AND CHEAPER--SCALE. "SPOT CHECKS" REVEAL THAT A WHOPPING 90-PERCENT ARE "TETRA-PODS". EVEN IF YOU STILL CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY THEY CALL SOMETHING WITH ARMS AND LEGS A "DOT", THIS NEW METHOD OF PRODUCING QUANTUM DOTS COULD BE A QUANTUM LEAP FOR THE FUTURE OF SOLAR POWER--AND THE COOLEST SPOTS UNDER THE SUN SINCE THE YELLOW POLKA-DOT BIKINI. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
