Earthworms that shit quantum technology! “When things get small–like millionths-of-an-inch small–they get very interesting. The ordinary rules of physics we’re used to fade back as the oddness of quantum physics looms large. Engineers have taken advantage of this fact by fashioning tiny bits of matter, known as quantum dots, that behave in all sorts of useful ways. For example, quantum dots made from cadmium telluride will respond to ultraviolet light by giving off a flash of visible light–the color depending on their size. If you attach certain molecules to cadmium telluride quantum dots, they will latch onto certain targets, making it possible to detect trace amounts of substances ranging from pesticides to cancer cells.” “As versatile as cadmium telluride quantum dots are, however, they’re not easy to make. It’s especially tedious to fashion them so that they’re not toxic to living cells, since both cadmium and tellurium are nasty metals. In the latest issue of Nature Nanotechnology, a group of scientists at Kings College London offer a remarkably easy way to make them. In earthworms.” (Read more: The Quantum Earthworm – Phenomena)
View Separately

Earthworms that shit quantum technology!

“When things get small–like millionths-of-an-inch small–they get very interesting. The ordinary rules of physics we’re used to fade back as the oddness of quantum physics looms large. Engineers have taken advantage of this fact by fashioning tiny bits of matter, known as quantum dots, that behave in all sorts of useful ways. For example, quantum dots made from cadmium telluride will respond to ultraviolet light by giving off a flash of visible light–the color depending on their size. If you attach certain molecules to cadmium telluride quantum dots, they will latch onto certain targets, making it possible to detect trace amounts of substances ranging from pesticides to cancer cells.”

“As versatile as cadmium telluride quantum dots are, however, they’re not easy to make. It’s especially tedious to fashion them so that they’re not toxic to living cells, since both cadmium and tellurium are nasty metals. In the latest issue of Nature Nanotechnology, a group of scientists at Kings College London offer a remarkably easy way to make them. In earthworms.”

(Read more: The Quantum Earthworm – Phenomena)

Source: National Geographic

73 Notes/ Hide

  1. fantasticeschaton reblogged this from openscience
  2. dinosauross reblogged this from openscience
  3. mucholderthen reblogged this from openscience and added:
    What a time to be alive!
  4. quadriliteral reblogged this from openscience
  5. jedipantstrick reblogged this from openscience
  6. someonesappin reblogged this from openscience
  7. maxrimus reblogged this from openscience
  8. lindsayslabyrinth reblogged this from openscience
  9. starsinhiseyes reblogged this from quantum-immortal
  10. quantum-immortal reblogged this from imagineatoms
  11. mykulwaitforityang reblogged this from openscience
  12. el-tapatio-costeno reblogged this from openscience
  13. seesasse reblogged this from openscience and added:
    earthworm: the new aid...fight against cancer!
  14. faeles-mysticus reblogged this from openscience and added:
    shit. (Ha ha. I’m so funny. *Sarcasm*)
  15. this-is-somestuff reblogged this from openscience
  16. e-explorations reblogged this from highspeedderp
  17. highspeedderp reblogged this from openscience
  18. brightstarvictory reblogged this from openscience
  19. arielwaldman reblogged this from openscience
  20. a-barren-prairie-harpy reblogged this from imagineatoms
  21. arielsquid reblogged this from openscience