My 9th Grade Brother asked me what I do in my lab, so I threw together this presentation. I am not sure how much a 9th Grader knows, but I intended this presentation to give him exposure, rather than to have him understand everything. Please feel free to critique my presentation, and certainly point out any pictures that I may have failed to give the original sources credit for.

1. What we do in my lab Optical Materials Source: www.nanotech-now.com/current-uses.htm Source: stm.lbl.gov/Salmeron_group/homeold.html Source: www.godunov.com/bucky/fullerene.html Source: www.aip.org/png/2003/186.htm Source: web.gc.cuny.edu /dept/engineering/ Faissal Source: scienceblogs.com /.../04/pining_for_the_sun.php

4. We start with crystals Source: www.faeriesfinest.com/B947.html Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rock_salt_crystal.jpg Crystals can look like this: The crystals that we make are nanometers in size! We call these nanocrystals Quantum Dots .

6. We take Atoms from Salts to make our Quantum Dots Cadmium From Salt Selenium From Salt Cadmium Selenide ( CdSe ) Source: http://www.astro.virginia.edu/class/oconnell/astr121/cosmic-history-narrative.html +

7. Our Quantum Dots look like this: In the Laboratory: We cannot see our Quantum Dots . Here are the models of our nanocrystals Source: Published online: 25 January 2004; doi:10.1038/nmat1056

10. We also work with Carbon Nanotubes Source: Mat. Res. [online]. 2008, vol.11, n.3 [cited 2009-07-15], pp. 325-333 Carbon Nanotubes in the Lab Carbon Nanotube Model

12. Carbon nanotubes look like this: Source: www.aip.org/png/2003/186.htm

13. We make nanocomposites Source: www.nanotech-now.com/current-uses.htm

15. We test our films using a LASER Source: www.laseroffers.com/what-is-laser/ Source: http://www.rp-photonics.com/lasers.html

16. We move our films through a focused laser to see how their properties change Source: www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/primer/geomop.htm

17. We measure changes in: Source: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Phys_p028.shtml Refractive Index: Source: http://www.tcd.ie/Physics/opticslab/facilities/z_scan.php Absorption coefficient (using two photon absorption): Source: http://www.hyperzoid.com/csc492/microscopy.html

19. Getting Light from an Atom Source: https://reich-chemistry.wikispaces.com/422-002+D.+Thibault+and+J.+Brock+Big+Time+Line+Project

20. Hydrogen Spectra Source: http://www.goiit.com/posts/list/community-shelf-the-bohr-atom-917720.htm

21. A little bit about LASERS Source: http://www.phy.cuhk.edu.hk/phyworld/articles/laser/laser_e.html Electron transitions in an atom: Schematic Diagram of a Ruby Laser: Comparing laser and ordinary lamplight: