3 ms·

So a thermoelectric generator? Saying this is using the "coldness of the universe" is technically true, but it's a bit of a grandiose way of describing the fact

So a thermoelectric generator? Saying this is using the "coldness of the universe" is technically true, but it's a bit of a grandiose way of describing the fact that nighttime is colder than day. It would be pretty neat to harvest the natural nighttime cooling of panels though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_generator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_generator

DEADBEEFC0FFEE 8y ago
Does it perhaps have applications in the Space Industry?
- amelius 8y ago
  From that linked wiki page: > Another application is radioisotope thermoelectric generators which are used in space probes, ...
notimetorelax 8y ago
I don’t think it’s grandiose at all, this TED talk explains the effect pretty well https://youtu.be/7a5NyUITbyk https://youtu.be/7a5NyUITbyk Radiative cooling functions both during night and day.
- satori99 8y ago
  Not sure if it is mentioned in the video you linked, but a Stanford team has been doing interesting research into this type of thing in recent years; https://news.stanford.edu/2017/09/04/sending-excess-heat-sky/ https://news.stanford.edu/2017/09/04/sending-excess-heat-sky... https://www.technologyreview.com/s/532826/material-cools-buildings-by-sending-heat-into-space/ https://www.technologyreview.com/s/532826/material-cools-bui... http://web.stanford.edu/group/fan/ http://web.stanford.edu/group/fan/
jessriedel 8y ago
No, this doesn't rely on the nighttime being colder than daytime. So long as you were using a wavelength in which the atmosphere is transparent, you could run the same system at any time of day even if you were in a temperature-controlled bubble that had no daily heat fluctuations. The only reason this system operates at night is because the atmosphere is not actually transparent to the frequencies used; during the day, the sky is just too hot to use as a cold sink.

DEADBEEFC0FFEE 8y ago

Does it perhaps have applications in the Space Industry?

amelius 8y ago
From that linked wiki page: > Another application is radioisotope thermoelectric generators which are used in space probes, ...

notimetorelax 8y ago

I don’t think it’s grandiose at all, this TED talk explains the effect pretty well https://youtu.be/7a5NyUITbyk https://youtu.be/7a5NyUITbyk Radiative cooling functions both during night and day.

satori99 8y ago
Not sure if it is mentioned in the video you linked, but a Stanford team has been doing interesting research into this type of thing in recent years; https://news.stanford.edu/2017/09/04/sending-excess-heat-sky/ https://news.stanford.edu/2017/09/04/sending-excess-heat-sky... https://www.technologyreview.com/s/532826/material-cools-buildings-by-sending-heat-into-space/ https://www.technologyreview.com/s/532826/material-cools-bui... http://web.stanford.edu/group/fan/ http://web.stanford.edu/group/fan/

jessriedel 8y ago

No, this doesn't rely on the nighttime being colder than daytime. So long as you were using a wavelength in which the atmosphere is transparent, you could run the same system at any time of day even if you were in a temperature-controlled bubble that had no daily heat fluctuations. The only reason this system operates at night is because the atmosphere is not actually transparent to the frequencies used; during the day, the sky is just too hot to use as a cold sink.