Posted on 01/11/2016 5:49:44 AM PST by BenLurkin
The carmaker is sponsoring researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who have developed a new material [ in the form of a translucent polymer film - which absorbs solar energy which can be stored for days at a time before being released.
Produced by MIT professor Jeffrey Grossman, postdoc David Zhitomirsky, and graduate student Eugene Cho, the stored energy can be released by changing the chemical state, likely via a small jolt of electricity.
The report - published in the Journal of Advanced Energy Materials - states: "Photon energy is stored within the chemical conformations of molecules and is retrieved by a triggered release in the form of heat.
"Until now, such solar thermal fuels (STFs) have been largely unavailable in the solid-state, which would enable them to be utilized for a multitude of applications."
(Excerpt) Read more at edie.net ...
Solar heated clothing that absorbs and store it during the day and releases it at night. Could be one of the uses also
Sounds like a smart application of technology - but I cringe at the likely cost of windshield repair.
And when running the A/C in Arizona, it’ll burn up the windshield.
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