We have already started to feel the heat of summer. Have you ever thought of a material that can keep the car and building from heating? So, this is something you should know. The existing substances that accurately take up light are bulky and can rupture when bent. Further, they are not capable of absorbing only the required wavelength while letting others pass through, which limits in use in some applications.
Now, the scientists at the University of California San Diego have designed a flexible, thin, lightweight material, known as a near-perfect broadband absorber, which is capable of blocking thermal exposure and take up light from each angle in order to keep cars and buildings cool during hot summer days.
The material is claimed to take up almost 87% of near-infrared light, that is, at 1,200–2,200 nm wavelengths, with 98% assimilation at 1,550 nm. The material has the power to absorb light from each angle. Hypothetically, it can be modified to take up specific wavelengths of light without absorbing the other wavelengths.
The absorber depends on optical fact called as surface plasmon resonances that are combined motions of free electrons, which takes place on the exterior of metal nanoparticles on contact with specific wavelengths of light. Metal nanoparticles can hold many free electrons and hence display tough surface plasmon resonance specifically in the visible light, but not in the infrared.
The scientists also believe if they are able to alter the digit of free electron carriers, it would enable them to adjust the surface plasmon resonance of the material to various wavelengths of light.
Isn’t it a great development?