4 ms·
It sounded like it wasn't the heat that got converted to electricity, but rather the photons emitted by the hot object glowing, and since your vantablack object
by prewett 5y ago
It sounded like it wasn't the heat that got converted to electricity, but rather the photons emitted by the hot object glowing, and since your vantablack object is not glowing you would expect to get nothing.
But maybe not, the glowing comes from black body radiation, so the vantablack material would presumably glow as well (ironically). As long as the heatsink coupling did not block the visible "white" light produced, or glowed itself, then at least the photons from the back would get used. I expect that getting a heatsink paste rated for 2200 C is ... challenging, but, conveniently, you'd do better if you just skipped the paste.
- multiplegeorges 5y agoThe vantablack material would indeed "glow", as everything in the universe glows. It just does so outside the visible spectrum. The difference between this thermo-voltaic cell and a photo-voltaic cell is that photo is visible spectrum and thermo is IR. It's all just photons!
- wongarsu 5y ago> I expect that getting a heatsink paste rated for 2200 C is ... challenging, but, conveniently, you'd do better if you just skipped the paste Liquid metal is some of the best performing thermal paste around. In computer applications that's normally an alloy made from Gallium, Indium and Tin, but at 2200C the majority of metals should work. Maybe Gold to reduce oxidation.