Post by account_disabled on Feb 19, 2024 1:57:18 GMT -5
Liquid windows would be quite cheap as they could be made from off-the-shelf components.
There are already “smart” windows that can be electronically switched between letting in sunlight and blocking it. However, a new multi-layer window can adjust to various light filtration modes to save energy .
By adjusting the glass opacity of existing photochromic windows , users can control how much sunlight passes through the window and enters the room.
In most cases, the glass partially Phone Number List blocks the visible spectrum of sunlight, preventing the room from being too bright, and its infrared spectrum, preventing the room from becoming too hot.
However, on hot summer days, people may want the brightness of visible light, but not the heat of infrared. In winter, they probably want both. Additionally, they may want to soften visible light so they don't have to squint all day. That's where the new " liquid window " comes into play .
Developed by a team of scientists at the University of Toronto, led by Professor Ben Hatton, it is inspired by the color-changing skin of squid, cuttlefish and krill . These animals are able to move pigments in the cells under their skin and change it between transparent and opaque.
Last year, researchers announced a tinted window inspired by this capability. The liquid window prototype takes the concept further by incorporating multiple stacked sheets of transparent plastic, each of which has a network of millimeter-thick microchannels running through it.
By pumping liquids with different pigments (or other molecules) into or out of the channels of each sheet, it is possible to select different combinations of optical qualities for the window as a whole.
For example, by pumping a pigment that blocks visible light from one sheet and a pigment that blocks infrared light from another, the window can be adjusted to let visible light through and block infrared light. Additionally, pumping a light-diffusing pigment into or out of another sheet adjusts the softness/hardness of visible sunlight within the room.
Using computer models based on the performance of the prototypes, scientists calculate that even if liquid windows were only used to modulate infrared light transmission, a building would consume % less energy per year for heating, cooling and lighting . If windows were also used to control visible light, the figure would increase to.
There are already “smart” windows that can be electronically switched between letting in sunlight and blocking it. However, a new multi-layer window can adjust to various light filtration modes to save energy .
By adjusting the glass opacity of existing photochromic windows , users can control how much sunlight passes through the window and enters the room.
In most cases, the glass partially Phone Number List blocks the visible spectrum of sunlight, preventing the room from being too bright, and its infrared spectrum, preventing the room from becoming too hot.
However, on hot summer days, people may want the brightness of visible light, but not the heat of infrared. In winter, they probably want both. Additionally, they may want to soften visible light so they don't have to squint all day. That's where the new " liquid window " comes into play .
Developed by a team of scientists at the University of Toronto, led by Professor Ben Hatton, it is inspired by the color-changing skin of squid, cuttlefish and krill . These animals are able to move pigments in the cells under their skin and change it between transparent and opaque.
Last year, researchers announced a tinted window inspired by this capability. The liquid window prototype takes the concept further by incorporating multiple stacked sheets of transparent plastic, each of which has a network of millimeter-thick microchannels running through it.
By pumping liquids with different pigments (or other molecules) into or out of the channels of each sheet, it is possible to select different combinations of optical qualities for the window as a whole.
For example, by pumping a pigment that blocks visible light from one sheet and a pigment that blocks infrared light from another, the window can be adjusted to let visible light through and block infrared light. Additionally, pumping a light-diffusing pigment into or out of another sheet adjusts the softness/hardness of visible sunlight within the room.
Using computer models based on the performance of the prototypes, scientists calculate that even if liquid windows were only used to modulate infrared light transmission, a building would consume % less energy per year for heating, cooling and lighting . If windows were also used to control visible light, the figure would increase to.