Phonons in action. Image: wikimedia commons.

The identification of phonons in 1932 by Igor Tamm gave rise to harmonic oscillators. With implications for thermodynamics as well as quantum computing, phonons are shaping the future. Design of cell phones and solar panels is also heating up, according to Professor Gang Chen of MIT. The discovery of atomic energy transformed the world in dramatic ways. What is the future of phonons in energy and the environment?

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License