![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() by Staff Writers Melbourne, Australia (SPX) Mar 06, 2018
Researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia have developed a new ultra-thin coating that responds to heat and cold, opening the door to "smart windows". The self-modifying coating, which is a thousand times thinner than a human hair, works by automatically letting in more heat when it's cold and blocking the sun's rays when it's hot. Smart windows have the ability to naturally regulate temperatures inside a building, leading to major environmental benefits and significant financial savings. Lead investigator Associate Professor Madhu Bhaskaran said the breakthrough will help meet future energy needs and create temperature-responsive buildings. "We are making it possible to manufacture smart windows that block heat during summer and retain heat inside when the weather cools," Bhaskaran said. "We lose most of our energy in buildings through windows. This makes maintaining buildings at a certain temperature a very wasteful and unavoidable process. "Our technology will potentially cut the rising costs of air-conditioning and heating, as well as dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of buildings of all sizes. "Solutions to our energy crisis do not come only from using renewables; smarter technology that eliminates energy waste is absolutely vital." Smart glass windows are about 70 per cent more energy efficient during summer and 45 per cent more efficient in the winter compared to standard dual-pane glass. New York's Empire State Building reported energy savings of US$2.4 million and cut carbon emissions by 4,000 metric tonnes after installing smart glass windows. This was using a less effective form of technology. "The Empire State Building used glass that still required some energy to operate," Bhaskaran said. "Our coating doesn't require energy and responds directly to changes in temperature." Co-researcher and PhD student Mohammad Taha said that while the coating reacts to temperature it can also be overridden with a simple switch. "This switch is similar to a dimmer and can be used to control the level of transparency on the window and therefore the intensity of lighting in a room," Taha said. "This means users have total freedom to operate the smart windows on-demand." Windows aren't the only clear winners when it comes to the new coating. The technology can also be used to control non-harmful radiation that can penetrate plastics and fabrics. This could be applied to medical imaging and security scans. Bhaskaran said that the team was looking to roll the technology out as soon as possible. "The materials and technology are readily scalable to large area surfaces, with the underlying technology filed as a patent in Australia and the US," she said. The research has been carried out at RMIT University's state-of-the-art Micro Nano Research Facility with colleagues at the University of Adelaide and supported by the Australian Research Council.
How the coating works At 67 degrees Celsius, vanadium dioxide transforms from being an insulator into a metal, allowing the coating to turn into a versatile optoelectronic material controlled by and sensitive to light. The coating stays transparent and clear to the human eye but goes opaque to infra-red solar radiation, which humans cannot see and is what causes sun-induced heating. Until now, it has been impossible to use vanadium dioxide on surfaces of various sizes because the placement of the coating requires the creation of specialised layers, or platforms. The RMIT researchers have developed a way to create and deposit the ultra-thin coating without the need for these special platforms - meaning it can be directly applied to surfaces like glass windows.
![]() ![]() Using a laser to wirelessly charge a smartphone safely across a room Seattle WA (SPX) Mar 06, 2018 Although mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones let us communicate, work and access information wirelessly, their batteries must still be charged by plugging them in to an outlet. But engineers at the University of Washington have for the first time developed a method to safely charge a smartphone wirelessly using a laser. As the team reports in a paper published online in December in the Proceedings of the Association for Computing Machinery on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous ... read more
![]() |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |