Mathematics was fun right!? Well, until they added the alphabet to it…
Don’t get frightened, we are not going to talk Math here, nor is this about the next Iron Man movie.
With new technological developments every year, which to some extent are proving to be multifunctional and groundbreaking, while in some cases are mere gimmicks, such as the heart rate monitor on the back of Samsung Galaxy S5 (so you can take a good selfie right before a possible heart attack) and the ‘Share your heartbeat’ feature of Apple’s iWatch (because a box of chocolates is just too mainstream).
Source : Google Images
“Quantum Dot” is going to evolve, and is expected to bring revolutionary new technologies because of its many advantageous characteristics:
- Our eyes will benefit from it if displays can regenerate pure, natural colors.
- When applied onto solar cells to bolster power efficiency, the cost will come down and help proliferate the use of solar panels.
- Not only that, its application in bio-imaging could help early discovery of cancer.
Well, one of the buzzwords for 2015 is going to be “Quantum Dot”, which at first may sound like a technology taking you to the 4th dimension, but has actually been around for quite a while and is being seen as a new generation display technology because not only does it deliver richer colour, but is also cheaper.
Every year at the CES (Consumer Electronic Show), which is one of the most influential high-tech expos on the planet, held in the month of January in Nevada, Las Vegas, companies introduce new television technologies in hope to improve your viewing experience so that every successive episode of ‘Sasural Simar ka’ can be more enjoyable (since the story, plot, acting …*sigh*. Nevermind)
Source: Google Images
From ancient ‘black-n-white’ TVs, we gradually moved to color TVs, but every year, something different (but not necessarily revolutionary) is coming out in the market – LCD, LED, 3D, UHD, 4K … and we are soon going to run out of acronyms.
The application of this technology is not just limited to Television, but is going to improve other technologies such as solar batteries, the TV manufacturers and most importantly, the end consumer. How you ask? Read on.
Electronics giants Samsung and LG, unveiled their line-up of Quantum Dot TVs at the CES this year, triggering a race towards employment of nanotechnology to produce extra-wide color range TVs.
QUANTUM DOTS: SELF-ILLUMINATING NATURAL COLOURS!
Basically, a “Quantum Dot” is a self-illuminating nano-crystals made of semi-conductor, commonly made using cadmium selenide sulfide. The ability to display natural colors is advantageous in many applications, from big-screen TVs to mobiles, and tablet PCs.They produce pure, precise and a wide range of colors similar to OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TVs, but at a cheaper manufacturing cost.
Infact, they can produce more accurate colors because of a lesser band gap (meaning a smaller distance between two consecutive colors) than OLED, therefore it is beneficial to manufacturers as the components are cheaper, and beneficial to the consumer since they will get higher quality TV at a lower price.
Source : Google Images
NOT JUST FOR YOUR IDIOT BOX:
In addition to TVs, this technology has revolutionized solar cell research, having achieved the same improvement in efficiency in the past 3 years, which took 20 years to achieve using silicon. Flexible solar cells can be made using quantum-dots which can be made as thin as human-hair and can be applied in cars, mobiles and clothing. In terms of renewable solar energy, cells made using quantum-dots produce 2.4% higher energy conversion capacity than existing flexible solar cells because silicon solar cells can only absorb visible light and not UV (Ultraviolet) light that makes up most of the sunlight.
Quantum dots injected under the skin of mice glow red, yellow, and green indicating site and size of tumors.
The technology is still at an experimental stage, but once it moves to the mainstream it could bring about enormous repercussions in the display and energy market because of its efficiency in energy and cost. well, now we will just have to sit tight and wait for the magic to enter our lives.
– By Raunaq.
