Here we discuss the discovery of quantum dots, those small particles hovering between molecule-size and macroscopic-size. We begin with physicist and refugee from Nazis Herbert Fröhlich, whose predictions led the way in the 1930s. Among the researchers we encounter are Aleksei Yekimov, Louis Brus, and Moungi Bawendi. Quantum dots were real, but could they be made reliably of specific sizes? The answer turned out to be yes, but you have to carefully control the conditions to make them.

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