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Manipulating Heat Like Light

Posted by Soulskill on from the next-step-heat-lasers dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A new technique allows allows 'thermocrystals' to be created that can manipulate heat (a vibration of the atomic lattice of a material). Predicted manipulations include the ability to selectively transmit, reflect or concentrate heat much like light waves can be manipulated by lenses and mirrors. 'Heat differs from sound, he explains, in the frequency of its vibrations: Sound waves consist of lower frequencies (up to the kilohertz range, or thousands of vibrations per second), while heat arises from higher frequencies (in the terahertz range, or trillions of vibrations per second).' Applications range from better thermoelectric devices to switchable heat insulating/transmitting materials (abstract). Perhaps this will result in better cooling/heating mechanisms or more efficient engines."

7 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. Could they redirect only a certain hotness? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Maxwell's Demon?

    1. Re:Could they redirect only a certain hotness? by radtea · · Score: 4, Informative

      No.

      They first have to select specific wavelengths and then--it sounds like--frequency-shift them.

      To call this "heat" is a deliberately misleading statement designed to elicit precisely the question you are asking, as that will attract much more of our most limited resource--attention--to this otherwise interesting but essentially esoteric work.

      "Heat" in ordinary parlance is constituted by vibrational modes that obey the principle of equipartition, which this "heat" manifestly does not.

      --
      Blasphemy is a human right. Blasphemophobia kills.
  2. Re:Does "heat" really require definition ? by AdamStarks · · Score: 3, Insightful

    http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/01/05/225256/what-negative-temperature-really-means

    Yes

  3. Fusion! A/C, Sterling by snadrus · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How did this one get missed? Fusion's biggest problem is heat management.
    Thermal Diodes: Hook this to a solar collecting sterling engine for a considerable performance boost.
    That sounds like passive Heating & Air conditioning. Maybe society will use technology to reduce its power consumption overall.

    --
    Science & open-source build trust from peer review. Learn systems you can trust.
  4. A specific specially created heat by sandytaru · · Score: 4, Informative

    These crystals aren't heat sinks. The MIT lab is creating a "heat" that is actually just really fast sound. This can then be manipulated with their special thermocrystals. Now, if they can create a way to turn normal waste heat into this "fast sound" heat, we'll open up a wealth of practical applications.

    --
    Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
  5. Re:Low-heat electricity generation by jonbryce · · Score: 3, Informative

    No, because it would violate the 2nd law of thermodynamics.

  6. Re:Wha? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    A swing and a miss... While things with temperature will emit blackbody radiation, which corresponds with IR for temperatures humans typically deal with in day to day stuff, and it is possible for a photon gas to have a temperature and distribution, neither of those make heat synonymous with IR or light in general. E&M radiation covers transfer by irradiation, but convection and conduction are handled by vibrations and motion of particles.