A wish for the future, space, time, wisdom, knowledge, sanity and the horizons we once looked beyond, with a healthy dose of questionable mundanity. Brought to you by Aunty Proton. E-mail the Author -- auntyproton@gmail.com
10/17/2006
Researchers at Rennselear Polytechnic have invented transducifilm
In the latest issue of Futurist (the publication of the World Future Society, of which I am a long time member) they have an article about a film that (a) absorbs sunlight and converts it to electricity as with photovoltaic panels, and (b) then by an arrangement of mismatched semiconducting layers uses that electricity to either produce heat or dissipate it for heating and cooling effects. This film will be between 50 and 500 micrometers thick and will be installed during construction. It could even be used for cans, for self-chilling drinks.
From the glossary of Aquaria:
“Transducifilm”
A low-yield, transparent photovoltaic film used for solar power generation, transducifilm is used most commonly to coat the windows of buildings.
So apparently they've one-upped it to include direct heating and cooling.
So it's yet another example of the technologies I thought I was inventing turning up in the real world.
Oy vey!
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1 comment:
That is the thing with Science Fiction. Looking into the future and extrapolating on the technology. I mean, look at cell phones and PDA's, most of which hadn't even been thought of at the time of Star Trek, but there are flip phones that are smaller than Communicators and PDA's that are smaller than Tricorders and about as functional. So it doesn't surprise me that you saw what was in development and moved forward, not realizing how quickly it was going to become viable.
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