Catching Some Rays

Catching some rays, a term often used in the late 60's when one wanted to become a lizard and soak up the sun big time, now applies to solar energy whereby imitating how the cochlea works enables metamaterials to absorb light with unprecedented efficiency, an absolute requirement if solar is to become a prime driver in changing how we do business on planet earth.

"Fang compares the tapered structures to the cochlea of the inner ear, which responds to different frequencies of sound at different points along its narrowing structure. “Our ears separate different frequencies and gather them at different depths,” he says; similarly, the metamaterial wedges harvest photons at different depths."

But it gets better.

Fang says that by its nature, the material would be both a very efficient emitter and absorber of photons — so in addition to potential uses in new kinds of solar cells or infrared detectors, the material could be used for infrared-light emitting applications, such as devices for generating electricity from heat. In addition, the researchers say the principle can be scaled so that it could be used to capture or emit electromagnetic radiation at other wavelengths, such as microwave and terahertz frequencies. It could even be used to produce visible light with extremely low energy loss, creating a new kind of high-efficiency light bulb.

For 60 years, man has talked about the brave new world of tech and how it will change everything, a notion always viewed in the abstract, an event always consigned to the future. Well, that concept is forever gone, replaced by the fact tech is changing society in ways unable to be predicted at rates unimagined just a few years ago, something to consider as we move further into the future, don't you think?

Addendum: This terrific animation shows the inner workings of the cochlea and how it's design applies to the saw tooth way of building revolutionary solar tech, which shows, in direct fashion, how acute observation, combined with knowledge and a sense of play, leads to acts of creation that can change the world.