This could pave the way for making devices that convert heat DIRECTLY into electricity without needing turbines and steam etc....
This would be a great material to put BEHIND solar cells and would mop up the extra heat and then channel it into thermo-electric converters.
You might also be able to use it to increase the efficiency of things like stiring engines for use in regenerative electric cars that don’t suck.
Or crowd control. Selectively turn individuals into “popped corn”.
Excellent application. An elderly friend of mine had several patents on Stirling engines. I was amazed at how his engines directly converted solar rays to mechanical energy to drive an engine (via a parabolic dish). Unfortunately he passed away before seeing this new development.
Devices already exist that convert heat directly to electricity. Well, actually, temperature differential, hot on one side, cool on the other.
I’ve been looking into the practicality of designing an array of TEG units to fit onto the exterior flue of a woodstove. Looks like about $5,000 worth of them would make a cabin minimally habitable so long as there was a fire in the woodstove. No moving parts, some have been in use for 200,000 hours without failing.
Minimally habitable meaning well pump, refrigeration, a few interior and exterior lights, and a few interior electrical receptacles with enoug current to power a few small appliances or a laptop,
I’m not well-versed enough to be able to consrtuct the thing myself, so the cost would go up considerably, to hire expertise in something that is currently rather obscure.
It won’t be for long, though. There are already small camp stoves on the market with a TEG unit that powers a small fan to aid combustion, with “waste” heat powering a USB port for recharging handheld devices such as cell phones, LED flashlights, etc. If you want to see one, do a web search for the Bio Lite camp stove.