Raw: [The nanoparticles create more precise colours and are used in TV screens, for medical imaging as well as in solar panels.] BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountHomeNewsSportReelWorklifeTravelFutureMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportReelWorklifeTravelFutureCultureMusicTVWeatherSoundsClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeWar in UkraineClimateVideoWorldUS & CanadaUKBusinessTechScienceMoreEntertainment & ArtsHealthIn PicturesBBC VerifyWorld News TVNewsbeatScienceQuantum dots: TV screen crystals win Chemistry Nobel PrizePublished5 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsNobel PrizeBy Georgina RannardScience reporterThe Nobel Prize for chemistry has been awarded to three scientists for their work in developing what are called quantum dots.People may have come across these tiny crystals in their QLED TV sets where the nanoparticles create colour.They are also used in medical imaging to guide surgeons, in better targeting of cancer drugs, and in solar panels.Winners Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov will share the 11m Swedish krona (£824,000) prize.Their names appeared to have been released accidentally hours before the official announcement by Sweden's Royal Academy of Sciences.”It's quite an honour,” Moungi G. Bawendi told the Academy.”Very surprised, sleepy, shocked, unexpected, and very honoured,” he said, adding that he had not heard the news before the Academy rang him.Quantum dots are extremely tiny – just a few millionths of a millimetre across. Their exact size determines the colour of light they emit when given energy. Smaller quantum dots are blue, and bigger dots are yellow and red.”For a long time nobody thought you could make such small particles,” but the winners this year managed to do just that, the Academy said when announcing the prize.The three scientists are US-based. Russian physicist Alexei I. Ekimov is credited with first discovering quantum dots in the 1980s, and US chemist Louis E. Brus then realised the crystals could be developed floating in fluid.Paris-born Moungi G. Bawendi invented a method for making the particles in a much more controlled way, meaning they could be more easily created.”Quantum dots are thus bringing the greatest benefit to humankind,” said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.”Researchers believe that in the future they could contribute to flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication – so we have just started exploring the potential of these tiny particles,” it added.Related TopicsChemistryNobel PrizeTop StoriesMcCarthy ousted as House Speaker in historic votePublished8 hours agoThe next US Speaker will inherit a poisoned chalicePublished8 hours agoMcCarthy has gone. What happens now?Published12 minutes agoFeaturesThe next US Speaker will inherit a poisoned chaliceDeserted Karabakh reveals scale of military defeatIndia-China feud keeps planes out of Nepal airportThe guardians of Peru's Potato ParkBedbug panic sweeps Paris as infestations soarMarriage equality eludes Japan's same-sex couplesHow Mike Jeffries used shirtless models to sell AbercrombieThe lives upended by colonial rule in the Middle EastThe ugly street harassment that killed an Indian girlElsewhere on the BBCThe companies paying for workers' holidaysThe dress that shocked the worldA place with air so clean it's bottledMost Read1Soldier suffered relentless sexual harassment from boss2Beckhams say affair stories were hard for marriage3China censors 'Tiananmen' image of athletes hugging4Venice tourist bus plunges from bridge, killing 215McCarthy ousted as House Speaker in historic vote6UK & Ireland now sole bidder for Euro 20287Pakistan orders 1.7 million Afghans out of country8Matt Gaetz sat alone but still won the fight9US sanctions Chinese firms in fentanyl crackdown10Missing girl found using fingerprints on ransom noteBBC News ServicesOn your mobileOn smart speakersGet news alertsContact BBC NewsHomeNewsSportReelWorklifeTravelFutureCultureMusicTVWeatherSoundsTerms of UseAbout the BBCPrivacy PolicyCookiesAccessibility HelpParental GuidanceContact the BBCGet Personalised NewslettersWhy you can trust the BBCAdvertise with us© 2023 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
