Well-balanced article explains quantum dots research by NIST.

Reviewed by: ​Jayanth Taranath and Patrick Grzela

Average Score: 4 / 5 

In Summary: ​ScienceDaily article summarizes research done by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on quantum dots. The researchers were able to successfully observe the electron distribution of the inside of a coupled quantum dot which will unlocks future potential in investigating how we can better control it and use it as a unit of information for our computers. The article explains the research and its importance well, but a lay audience member can get lost in some jargon. Although the author finds a balance between good explanation and oversimplification, the lack of author information and biography provides no method of reading more of their work. 

Original News Story

Research Article

Image by: Katherine Jiang

Jayanth Taranath 

This article is written to explain the significance of an important discovery done in the field of quantum dot imaging. Researchers used 2 main properties of quantum dots: the smaller it is, larger is the difference between the energy level that the electron can occupy. And, more importantly, in a quantum dot, an electron can become so much localized that it constantly spins around the center of the quantum dot and can help us in controlling it by externally applying electric and magnetic fields. Although, the article tries to draw the attention of the audience to this important study, some of the jargon and explanations on what a quantum dot really is, how the imaging was exactly done etc. were left unexplained. Overall, the article was able to wrap up some important aspects of the article and ended with an exciting flare stating that the exact theoretical reason behind the behavior of two quantum dots close to each other is still an open question.
The main parts of the article can be listed down in an orderly fashion as below:

1. Electrons orbit the center of a quantum dot similar to the way they orbit atoms. These electrons can occupy only certain energy levels, and this also determines their orbital path around the center.
2. Graphene is very good conductor of electrons. Boron Nitride on the other hand is an insulator. So, when we apply a very localized voltage through the graphene layer towards an underlying Boron Nitride layer, there is creation of an energy well. This well can be imagined as a localized pit in a sea where electrons want to jump in but cannot, and continuously revolve around. Imagine a motorcycle rider going around a circular wall – a usual sight in a circus.
3. Now, when a very strong magnetic field is applied externally, a ‘split’ in the energy level occurs that the electrons occupy. Now, the electrons can occupy two different energy levels and go around the center following separate paths. This can be explained by basic quantum mechanical theory.
4. The interesting part is that the team was able to image this configuration of electrons through high resolution microscopy. The image link is also provided in the article and is truly a captivating picture!
5. Although, people have been thinking of using ion-traps and quantum dots as quantum bits for quantum computing applications, a lot of studies are still be done both on the theoretical and experimental side. It seems like the title was a bit misleading and the big leap taken to connect the present study under consideration with quantum computing was little farfetched. 

Patrick Grzela

​This article, written by ScienceDaily, summarizes research on quantum dots done by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Quantum dots are particles that can be paired and share electrons. They have a very exciting potential in the field of microchips and silicon engineering, since they have the ability to process multiple streams of information simultaneously. Researchers at NIST have been able to actually observe the electron distribution of the inside of a coupled quantum dot using graphene, a magnetic field, the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope, and a brief increase of voltage. The team concluded that the patterns in which electrons are shared do not fit into any models of accepted quantum physics. This conclusion shows how new and untapped the field of quantum physics truly is, and how much human science still has to learn on not only the mechanism of quantum particles, but their potentially powerful applications. ScienceDaily has a reputation for being able to simplify research reports on incredibly complex subjects, so that their content becomes more accessible for the public to enjoy. This article is true to their reputation, as it makes a study on arguably one of the most confusing fields in modern science relatively easy to understand. Quantum mechanics is not something that can be explained to the average person without oversimplifying it, but the author of this article was effective at finding a balance between a good explanation and an oversimplification. The only shortcomings of this article are the same that every ScienceDaily article suffers from, which is a lack of author information and biography. There is no way of knowing who had written this article, and what other articles they had written. This is unfortunate because almost every other aspect of the article was handled so well. 

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