Did you knowthat infinitesimally small quantum dots can turn a window into a see-through solar panel?
Nanoparticle (also called nanopowder or nanocluster or nanocrystal): a microscopic particle with at least one dimension less than 100 nm. These tiny objects often have characteristics that differ from larger versions of the same material.
Quantum dots (QD): tiny nanoparticles of some kind of semiconducting material, only several nanometers in size, so small that their optical and electronic properties differ from those of larger particles. The QDs embedded in solar windows can absorb radiation largely in short wavelengths and re-emit in longer wavelengths; useful for capturing solar energy and successfully transferring it to the solar cells on the edges of the pane.
Total internal reflection: a phenomenon in which a wave hits a medium boundary at such an angle that it doesn’t pass through to the other side.