DESCRIPTION
This exhibit demonstrates how materials at the nanoscale can have unexpected properties. The tabletop interactive, Quantum Dots, focuses on the property of color and how a material’s color may change when brought down to the nanoscale. Visitors alter the size of a magnified quantum dot and watch the light that it emits shift from red to blue as it shrinks to a fraction of a nanometer. The copy panel and side monitors explain how unexpected properties are being used in real-world applications of quantum dots and nanoparticles, from medical imaging to consumer goods.
This exhibit was part of the Nanotechnology: What's the Big Deal? exhibition which toured the Arkansas Discovery Network beginning in 2010.
DESCRIPTION
This exhibit demonstrates how materials at the nanoscale can have unexpected properties. The tabletop interactive, Quantum Dots, focuses on the property of color and how a material’s color may change when brought down to the nanoscale. Visitors alter the size of a magnified quantum dot and watch the light that it emits shift from red to blue as it shrinks to a fraction of a nanometer. The copy panel and side monitors explain how unexpected properties are being used in real-world applications of quantum dots and nanoparticles, from medical imaging to consumer goods.
This exhibit was part of the Nanotechnology: What's the Big Deal? exhibition which toured the Arkansas Discovery Network beginning in 2010.
TRAINING VIDEOS
OBJECTIVES
BIG IDEA
Super small nanoparticles can have very unexpected properties.
NANO CONTENT MAP
Nanometer-sized things are very small, and often behave differently than larger things do.
Scientists and engineers have formed the interdisciplinary field of nanotechnology by investigating properties and manipulating matter at the nanoscale.
Nanoscience, nanotechnology, and nanoengineering lead to new knowledge and innovations that weren't possible before.
DOWNLOAD FILES
- Unexpected Properties Brochure (PDF)
- Unexpected Properties Construction Drawings (PDF)
- Unexpected Properties Manual (PDF)
- Unexpected Properties Graphic Panel 1 of 3 (PDF)
- Unexpected Properties Graphic Panel 2 of 3 (PDF)
- Unexpected Properties Graphic Panel 3 of 3 (PDF)
- Graphic NSF Credit (PDF)
- Unexpected Properties Application Screen 1 of 3 (JPG)
- Unexpected Properties Application Screen 2 of 3 (JPG)
- Unexpected Properties Application Screen 3 of 3 (JPG)
- Unexpected Properties Audio (WAV)
- Intro to Nanotechnology 2006 Formative Evaluation (PDF)
- Exhibits and Programs Year 5 Summative Evaluation (PDF)
- Unexpected Properties Audio (Spanish) (WAV)
Credits
NISE Network
Developed for the NISE Network with funding from the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 0532536 and 0940143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
View more details
NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.