Hot new discovery: Rare metal that stores heat from sun makes the 'rechargeable solar battery'

www.dailymail.co.uk...

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Quote from source:

Scientists have discovered how a rare metal is able to absorb sunlight and store it as pure heat until it is needed.
The breakthrough paves the way for the next generation of solar power devices that are able to harness energy and heat collected from the sun and store it indefinitely.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say it could be used to create a ‘rechargeable heat battery’ that could be used to heat a home.

The remarkable material is known as fulvalene diruthenium. When a molecule of the substance absorbs sunlight it changes shape into a semi-stable, but perfectly safe, state.

It can stay like this indefinitely until combined with a catalyst when it will snap back to its original form releasing a huge amount of heat. This heat could then be used to heat a home.

Awesome discovery, just a little upsetting that it is "expensive."

Cannot wait till we figure out a way to manufacture this in a lab if we do not have enough of it on Earth. or if it is too expensive. Cool to see though that this power is out there and we will be able to harness it in the future.

Any thoughts?

Pred...

reply to post by predator0187


Very cool, or I guess hot new metal. Looks like a lot of potential for heating and more importantly storing of energy. Could this result in a new kind of battery?

Looks like this metal comes from ruthenium, which is mined. Who has the most deposits of ruthenium?

Heads up (foreign country), the US is going to bomb the be-jesus out of you to obtain this metal if you happen to have it within your borders.

reply to post by predator0187

The problem of ruthenium’s rarity and cost still remains as “a dealbreaker,” Grossman said, but now that the fundamental mechanism of how the molecule works is understood, it should be easier to find other materials that exhibit the same behavior. This molecule “is the wrong material, but it shows it can be done,” he said.

Link to the MIT Article.

Sounds like they think they can substitute cheaper materials now that they understand how it works. Cutting edge stuff so I'll be dead and gone by the time it bears fruit, but great news for young folks.

MIT also came up with synthetic photosythesis to replace solar cells which is way more efficient and can be treated to restore it as it breaks down. Combine the two and you have energy problems solved.

Fine Tuning Photosynthesis article from MIT.

The new work, which looks at artificial photosynthetic systems based on self-assembling molecules designed by researchers at of the University of California, Berkeley, follows a paper they published in October in the New Journal of Physics that examined the factors that determine the efficiency of natural photosynthesis.

Another interesting article on the same general topic.

Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera's lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.

reply to post by predator0187

heat could run a engine made by cypw
www.cyclonepower.com...

reply to post by Blaine91555


Thanks for all the info buddy.

Now if we could replicate these properties and figure out a room temperature super conductor, this world would change dramatically. Wow, what a thought.

Pred...

It can be found in deposits from the Ural mountains, the Andes, South Africa and in Ontario.

If you wished to find other sources it could be harvested from nuclear reactor wastes but would need ten years to cool to a stable isotope.

It could also be harvested as a decay product of Molybdenum via neutron capture and then a decay chain.

Also it could be a valuable cargo justifying mining minerals on the Moon which is rich in Rare Earth metals. It would so revolutionise energy production on Earth that it could pay for Lunar exploration. Just as soon as it become practical to harness it someone will set up a lunar minerals company by public subscription to do just that. Call it ENRON mark 2

Originally posted by iamcamouflage
reply to post by predator0187

 

Very cool, or I guess hot new metal. Looks like a lot of potential for heating and more importantly storing of energy. Could this result in a new kind of battery?

Looks like this metal comes from ruthenium, which is mined. Who has the most deposits of ruthenium?

Heads up (foreign country), the US is going to bomb the be-jesus out of you to obtain this metal if you happen to have it within your borders.

edit on 1-12-2010 by iamcamouflage because: (no reason given)

apparently 97% of the world's deposits are in China. Maybe no Bombing for this one....

I'm surprised this thread did not get a little more attention, this is a big deal.

If the main supplies are in China then will be working on a synthesized product ASAP. There is no way the US will let China rule the commodities on this. They will have to take the power out of their hands.

This might get interesting.

Pred...