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Week 2: Closing thoughts

In this video we review the second week of the course and invite you to discuss your favourite topics.
3.1
That’s all for week two. This week has been all about the solid state. We explored how electrons allow us to see far more detail than visible light microscopes allow. And then a whole range of ways we are manipulating materials for applications from solar cells, to biosensors, to pharmaceuticals, We’ve got more info on nanomaterials in links below, so check those out – and tell us in the discussion what you think of this week’s topic. Throw us your questions, share your views, and say hello. Next week we zoom in even further to explore the quantum world, and the particle zoo of the standard model.

This week we have zoomed in on the nanoscale and explored the world of materials.

We have investigated how electron microscopy can allow us to see down to the atomic level, and discovered how we can control light using nanostructures. We have seen how we can manipulate materials at scales 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, and how we can use sophistical computer modelling to predict the properties of yet undiscovered materials.

We want to hear more about what you have enjoyed this week. Were you inspired by the nanostructures that make solar cells more efficient or intrigued by the exciting potential in some of the new technologies we have seen? Did you like conducting your own experiment using a computer simulation, or perhaps you are keen to find out whether wearable thermoelectrics will make it easier to charge your phone on the go in the future?

Comment below and tell us what your favourite topic in week 2 has been.

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Frontier Physics, Future Technologies

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