New "nanoantenna" material sucks heat from any source to cool devices, generates electricity

We're always up for another way to harvest energy from the sun, but this new nanoantenna material developed by the DoE's Idaho National Laboratory makes solar panels seem a little passe. The material, composed of tiny gold antennas set in polyethylene plastic is tuned to gather 80 percent of energy from infrared rays in its production version, and can gather energy from the sun, earth, or even your PC's warmth. The antennas can be tuned to different parts of the infrared spectrum, and the thin material can be sandwiched together to cover the full desired range. Unfortunately, the resulting current generated alternates at rates too high to be converted to DC with current technology -- new manufacturing processes will needed -- but once that problem is solved, nanoantennas should easily best solar cells in efficiency and production costs.

[Via DailyTech]

[allenvanhellen @ Aug 12th 2008 12:38PM]

Add this to a hybrid; you could speed up the battery recharge using the heat from the gas engine.

[Blackstar @ Aug 12th 2008 12:45PM]

Add this to your chair and you can power your computer with your ass.

[Doggabone @ Aug 12th 2008 2:30PM]

@ Blackstar:

Once again, gas power comes from behind and proves that it's still plentiful.

[Harley @ Aug 12th 2008 12:41PM]

This "news" is from January, right?
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1329/

[Ladderless @ Aug 12th 2008 12:44PM]

There is no such thing as news... Only history you didn't know.

Lighten up

[Daugenet @ Aug 12th 2008 1:56PM]

:-)

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/02/infrared-solar-panels-even-work-at-night-but-cant-output-energ/

[A.C.E.R. @ Aug 12th 2008 3:40PM]

For once the "this isn't news" crowd is right. I remember this story too.

[tawak @ Aug 12th 2008 12:45PM]

cool yes, but will we see this implimented any where within the next 10 years? i doubt it

[narutogrey @ Aug 12th 2008 3:05PM]

Actually, the best part of nano-technology is that it takes a lot less time to make the tools to make the product, so it will take MUCH less time than 10 years. The reason is that at the nano level, there are a lot of factors that you can just ignore. Friction, gravity, macro-level interferences, wear, galling, etc... It is relatively easy to make new manufacturing processes and equipment when you can ignore the hardest parts of developing manufacturing processes. The hardest part of nano was controlling tolerances, and the capability we have today is already way ahead of what is neaded for this antenna.

For nano, basically what you calculate on paper works out pretty closely to that happens in real life. This is the exact opposite for large machinery, which is why equipment that is used to build skyscrapers take years to design and build. Every vibration from just a gust of wind has to be taken into account. Not so for nano. Literally an engineering college student can design a nano process that has a good change of working.

That is why nano tech and MEMS devices can be designed and implemented so quickly.

[onix @ Aug 12th 2008 8:30PM]

@narutogrey: How many nanotech device components do you know of?? Carbon nanotubes have been around and talked about for so long, and yet getting a gram of it will cost you a fortune. And MEMS, well there is always the promise of low cost. Do you know TI worked on the DLP for 20+ years before it came out as $1000 chip?? Get real.

"easily best solar cells in efficiency and production costs"

Total B.S. So you have a finely tuned antenna for one frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum, abut then have to reject the rest. BTW, more energy is stored at higher frequencies which will require even smaller devices, and will exhibit all sorts of quantum mechanical problems.

[Major4Play @ Aug 12th 2008 12:50PM]

"new manufacturing processes will needed -- but once that problem is solved, nanoantennas should easily best solar cells in efficiency and production costs."

new manufacturing processes will BE needed

Grammar and spelling are a journalists best friend ;)

[Danger @ Aug 12th 2008 2:09PM]

How come you don't have a nose?

[Technex @ Aug 12th 2008 2:20PM]

It's just very faint.

[A.C.E.R. @ Aug 12th 2008 3:48PM]

It's supposed to be "journalist's" you ass. Why do all the grammar nazis have worse grammar than the ones they attack?

[David @ Aug 12th 2008 6:37PM]

>> Grammar and spelling are a journalists best friend ;)

...says the genius who can't use proper punctuation while correcting the mistakes of others (apostrophe in "journalist's" and a period at the end of a sentence). Also, no self-respecting journalist would use an emoticon to conclude a statement.

You FAIL!

[fischju @ Aug 12th 2008 12:55PM]

Ironically, these would be extremely useful to use on the underside of solar panels - they get very hot, and when that happens they decrease in efficiency. Useful to cool and create extra power.

[Skyride @ Aug 12th 2008 1:05PM]

I was about to say "wtf? phase change already does that" till i saw generates electricty.

Phase change (what fridges, freezers, etc,,, use) systems differ in that they use electricty as a catalyst to convert heat energy to more electricty then dump all that energy in the form heat again using a heater outside the unit (hence why your fridge/freezer gets very warm.

The ideas good. But its probably going to be yet another fantastic idea that no one will use.

[andres @ Aug 12th 2008 5:59PM]

you sir fail at phase change.
phase change uses electricity to compress a gas into a liquid which releases its heat into a radiator. it then pumps the liquid and decreases its pressure converting it back into a gas, causing the gas to absorb heat. it doesnt convert heat into electricity, it uses electricity to move the heat.

[Jon Acheson @ Aug 12th 2008 1:12PM]

Let's see what the efficiency of this tech is like once they are actually outputting DC. Until then, it seems like they are deliberately leaving out the most inefficient part of the system.

Also, I am not an engineer, but isn't this just a new type of thermocouple? I don't see why they insist on calling it an "antenna."

Lastly, what exactly is nano-scale about this? The illustration you provided is labeled in micro-meters.

[A.C.E.R. @ Aug 12th 2008 3:54PM]

You don't have to an engineer to understand that this isn't a thermocouple. You do know what an antenna is, right?

[capiendo @ Aug 12th 2008 5:41PM]

@A.C.E.R.: sounds like they're trying to build some sort of infra-red receiver? i'm guessing that the freq is so high that traditional rectifiers won't work here.

maybe if these antennas could generate strong lower freq harmonics, the energy could be tapped that way? anybody?

[inteller @ Aug 12th 2008 1:13PM]

only one problem.....they are made out of GOLD. Last time I checked gold was at $812 oz. Not sure how big an ounce of gold can make one of these things, but I'm guessing smaller than a post-it note.

[qrius @ Aug 12th 2008 1:33PM]

haha, great point.

[dargon @ Aug 12th 2008 1:53PM]

given that 1 ounce of 24K gold can be flattened to cover an acre of land, that's a lot of "antennas"

[David @ Aug 12th 2008 1:40PM]

Thermodynamics dictates that only the difference in temperature and thus in the blackbody IR spectrum between a warmer object and the antenna itself can be utilized and turned into useful work and that this conversion is less and less efficient as the two objects are closer and closer in temperature. So, positioning these antennas will be tricky. Close to a heat source, you get to be right up against a high temperature. However, the antenna also quickly heat up and the temperature difference goes to zero unless the antenna is attached to a good heat sink. Far from a heat source and the temperature is much lower (equivalently, most of the IR photons have gone off in other directions).

[Froggy @ Aug 12th 2008 2:01PM]

wound turning the heat into electricity not take care of the heat differential? especially if you have something that generates heat rather then something that has residual heat...

[qrius @ Aug 12th 2008 1:33PM]

I wonder if you could stick this on your car tailpipe and get some more energy from the exhaust...

[greatsunjester @ Aug 12th 2008 3:07PM]

Convince the ricerboys it will either a) make their honda louder or b) add a few horsepower and they will be all over it.

[NuttyBars @ Aug 12th 2008 1:34PM]

This sounds great, but not quite as good as the fart powered missile launcher.

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/04/10/patent-for-fartpower.html

[Tyson @ Aug 12th 2008 2:41PM]

looking at the heat given off my the MacBook pro it can have perpetual power maybe even power my whole house if this works out.

[Ian @ Aug 12th 2008 3:31PM]

i know my MBP could use this then i might be able to get an hour and a half out of a charge..

[Andrew @ Aug 12th 2008 2:52PM]

There was talks about putting a peltier-like device into a cars exhaust system the other day. Instead of using energy to make one side hot and the other cold, it reverses it and creates electricity from heat..

This could prove to be more efficient and smaller - allowing your engine to be covered in it as well to reclaim lost heat..

Amazing how all this new technology seems to be coming out just as the time requires it.. Makes you wonder how long these corps were sitting on it for.

[Juster @ Aug 12th 2008 3:26PM]

Could heatsinks be made with this?

[Ed @ Aug 12th 2008 4:12PM]

Once these antennas go into production we'll be able to generate even more power than we could today, thanks to global warming!

Thank you, Exxon-Mobile! Powering tomorrow with the environmental catastrophe of today.

[wonkydonkydotnet @ Aug 12th 2008 5:11PM]

-Just think of all the Megawatts that could be generated by Pamela Anderson's ass alone!

[andres @ Aug 12th 2008 6:01PM]

enough to power my delorean?

[ray @ Aug 12th 2008 6:07PM]

"but once that problem is solved" haven't heard that one before

[Adam @ Aug 12th 2008 8:02PM]

Vapourware's famous last words

[htomfields @ Aug 25th 2008 1:33PM]

Video is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fuofnZM5eE