Probes can explore the depths of space in ways that would kill human beings. The information they provide can spur countless innovations here on Earth. Learn how probes work and the exciting possibilities that their discoveries may inspire.

A thermal probe penetrating a glacier requires heat at the hot point for melting as well as along its entire length to balance the radial heat dissipation in the ice and thus prevent freezing in. The heat transfer problem is solved with a LaPlace transform and the results are developed graphically to simplify the numerical calculations. A performance diagram, developed as a design and operating aid, serves for analysis of the anticipated penetration performance of the probe and the required power levels. (Author).

Efficiency and life time of solar cells, energy and power density of the batteries, and costs of the fuel cells alike cannot be improved unless the complex electronic, optoelectronic, and ionic mechanisms underpinning operation of these materials and devices are understood on the nanometer level of individual defects. Only by probing these phenomena locally can we hope to link materials structure and functionality, thus opening pathway for predictive modeling and synthesis. While structures of these materials are now accessible on length scales from macroscopic to atomic, their functionality has remained Terra Incognitae. In this volume, we provide a summary of recent advances in scanning probe microscopy studies of local functionality of energy materials and devices ranging from photovoltaics to batteries, fuel cells, and energy harvesting systems. Recently emergent SPM modes and combined SPM-electron microscopy approaches are also discussed. Contributions by internationally renowned leaders in the field describe the frontiers in this important field.