CapelDodger
Penultimate Amazing
High-tech mirror beams heat away from buildings into space
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141126133821.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141126133821.htm
That's something to think about. Sidestep the CO2 and go straight to the sink.The real breakthrough is how the Stanford material radiates heat away from buildings.
As science students know, heat can be transferred in three ways: conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction transfers heat by touch. That's why you don't touch a hot oven pan without wearing a mitt. Convection transfers heat by movement of fluids or air. It's the warm rush of air when the oven is opened. Radiation transfers heat in the form of infrared light that emanates outward from objects, sight unseen.
The first part of the coating's one-two punch radiates heat-bearing infrared light directly into space. The ultrathin coating was carefully constructed to send this infrared light away from buildings at the precise frequency that allows it to pass through the atmosphere without warming the air, a key feature given the dangers of global warming.
"Think about it like having a window into space," Fan said.