Comment Re:Potential != Realized (Score 2, Informative) 445
And another little detail emerges in "combining infrared and visible photovoltaics could allow up to 30 per cent", which to me means that this particular invention alone will not potentially get us to 30%, but the combination of existing (visible) technology with this new (infrared) technology might.
It would have been nice to see some numbers around what this technology alone could do, just to get a point of reference.
But I do acknowledge it for what it is, a novel and promising piece of the puzzle.
Personally, I think the real story will be in the uses they might find for engineered quantum dots. With just the Infrared-adsorbing dots, I can think of reducing the Infrared signature of a human body or fighter jet by painting this stuff on and bleeding off at least some of the heat by converting it to electricity. How about increasing the efficiency of almost anything powered by electricity by converting waste heat back into electricity? How about a CPU core painted over with this stuff to remove heat and reduce power consumption? How about an additional means of removing heat for the Space Shuttle on re-entry?
And maybe they can create quantum dots that have an affinity for heavy metals, so that lead poisoning or other poisoning could be lessened by simple drinking or injecting a solution of quantum dots? Even if the dots stay in the body, maybe the poisons could be rendered harmless. How about a cure for Mad Cow Disease?
The possibilites seem limited only by the imagination. That's the article I want to read.
Anybody else got some off the top ideas on using this stuff?
It would have been nice to see some numbers around what this technology alone could do, just to get a point of reference.
But I do acknowledge it for what it is, a novel and promising piece of the puzzle.
Personally, I think the real story will be in the uses they might find for engineered quantum dots. With just the Infrared-adsorbing dots, I can think of reducing the Infrared signature of a human body or fighter jet by painting this stuff on and bleeding off at least some of the heat by converting it to electricity. How about increasing the efficiency of almost anything powered by electricity by converting waste heat back into electricity? How about a CPU core painted over with this stuff to remove heat and reduce power consumption? How about an additional means of removing heat for the Space Shuttle on re-entry?
And maybe they can create quantum dots that have an affinity for heavy metals, so that lead poisoning or other poisoning could be lessened by simple drinking or injecting a solution of quantum dots? Even if the dots stay in the body, maybe the poisons could be rendered harmless. How about a cure for Mad Cow Disease?
The possibilites seem limited only by the imagination. That's the article I want to read.
Anybody else got some off the top ideas on using this stuff?
