Quantum dots reveal entropy production, a key measure of nanoscale energy dissipation

In order to build the computers and devices of tomorrow, we have to understand how they use energy today. That’s harder than it sounds. Memory storage, information processing, and energy use in these technologies involve constant energy flow—systems never settle into thermodynamic balance. To complicate things further, one of the most precise ways to study these processes starts at the smallest scale: the quantum domain.