Phonons and Nanocrystals

Using the animations shown under the Phonon Modeling tab, we can now simulate what the phonons actually look like within these nanocrystals. It is important to note that VMD was used to create these simulations and the disclaimer, as well as the download, can be found in our references tab. Comparing all of the final shots of the past animations and comparing it to computer simulated phonons, one can see how then resemble themselves. Once again, the green arrows are the final vectors of movement of which the phonons are moving with in our simulations.

Phonons in Action	Description	Final Vector State
[ Download full size video (mpg/1.79MB) ]	A₁ - As you can see, the four lattice points move diagonally away, then towards each other.
[ Download full size video (mpg/1.45MB) ]	A₂ - The twelve, outside lattice points are twisting around the center of three cornered lattice points.
[ Download full size video (mpg/1.16MB) ]
[ Download full size video (mpg/1.80MB) ]
[ Download full size video (mpg/1.72MB) ]

This helps check that our symmetries were correct with our calculations of the phonon modes. Many can now observe what phonons in nanocrystals look like.