Blinking dots Photoluminescence image of individual quantum dots used in the experiment. Under time-dependent driving, the system is driven out-of-equilibrium and their blinking trajectories are modulated. (Courtesy: A Lindenberg)"> Blinking dots Photoluminescence image of individual quantum dots used in the experiment. Under time-dependent driving, the system is driven out-of-equilibrium and their blinking trajectories are modulated. (Courtesy: A Lindenberg) Researchers have succeeded in measuring how energy dissipates in quantum dots by quantifying the entropy they produce. The work, by a team at Stanford University in the US, could help in the optimization of real-world nanoscale devices used in applications such as quantum memories and information processing. Technologies like memory storage devices and information processors are intrinsically dissipative, explains materials scientist and engineer Aaron Lindenberg , who led this new study.…