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The Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded three American scientists on Wednesday for their pioneering work on quantum dots. These particles, with diameters of a few atoms, have the capability to emit remarkably bright colored light and find applications in various aspects of everyday life, including electronics and medical imaging. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honored Moungi Bawendi of MIT, Louis Brus of Columbia University, and Alexei Ekimov of Nanocrystals Technology Inc. for their work with the tiny particles that “have unique properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which announced the award in Stockholm.
“Why does it matter, right, that we can make tiny particles that nobody can see, but they have colors?” Pernilla Witting Stafshede, a member of Nobel committee that awarded the prize. “This is actually used today both in medicine and technology. … We we have displays on TVs, in your cellphone, that use quantum dots inside to make just brighter colors.”
Swedish media revealed the winners’ names several hours before the award announcement, adding an unusual twist to the intrigue surrounding the academy’s choice. An error in a news release was allegedly responsible for the premature alert.
WHAT DISCOVERY WON THE NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY?
The electrons in quantum dots have restricted movement, which influences how they absorb and release visible light, allowing for extremely vivid colors.
When lighted or exposed to light, the nanoparticles glow blue, red, or green. The color they emit is determined by the particle size. Larger dots glow red, whereas smaller dots glow blue. Electrons in more or less constrained areas cause the color shift.
While physicists anticipated these color-changing capabilities as early as the 1930s, it took another five decades for scientists to create quantum dots of specific regulated sizes.
The academy credited Ekimov, 78, and Brus, 80, as early pioneers of the technology, while acknowledging Bawendi, 62, for revolutionizing the production of quantum dots, resulting in the creation of almost perfect particles. The academy stated that this high quality was necessary for utilizing them in various applications.
“He said, ‘The community realized the implications in the mid-90s, that there could potentially be some real-world applications.”
Judy Giordan, president of the American Chemical Society, expressed her thrill at the selection of the winners.
“What we care about a lot in chemistry is being able to make and tailor novel structures and architectures to solve problems that help people and the planet,” Giordan said.
On Tuesday, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in physics to French-Swedish physicist Anne L’Huillier, French scientist Pierre Agostini, and Hungarian-born Ferenc Krausz for their groundbreaking work in creating the first split-second view into the super-fast world of spinning electrons.
Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman received the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for their discoveries that facilitated the development of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
The chemistry prize marks the halfway point of the Nobel season. The Nobel Committee will announce the prizes for literature, peace, and economics each weekday until Oct. 9.
This year, the Nobel Foundation increased the award money by 10% to 11 million kronor (about $1 million). When they get their Nobel Prizes, recipients receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma when they collect their Nobel Prizes at the award ceremonies in December.
Source:In
