Using technology to help harness space as a way to boost air conditioning
Q. Outer space is near absolute zero temperature (-460F, -273C), really cold. So why not use this vast coldness to air condition our homes?
A. When you stand outside on a calm clear night, you can feel your body heat being radiated into space. This heat radiation also cools our homes, so we actually do use outer space for “air conditioning.” But during the day, the intense sunlight falling on our roofs overwhelms this radiative cooling, and our homes heat up. It would help if you could make your roof into a mirror so that no sunlight is absorbed. But, unfortunately, any ordinary mirror capable of reflecting sunlight also blocks thermal radiation from escaping into outer space, negating the desired cooling effect.
Enter so-called “metamaterials,” human-designed materials not found in nature. Reporting in “Science” magazine, Xiang Zhai et al. describe the fabrication of an extraordinary mirror that reflects sunlight yet is transparent to thermal radiation; the material consists of glass microspheres embedded in a transparent plastic film, backed by a mirror-like silver coating. More critically, they’ve developed an economical manufacturing process for the metamaterials, “vital for promoting radiative cooling as a viable energy technology.” These remarkable materials might help cool our buildings and, by reducing the energy we expend on air conditioning, also help cool our planet.
Q. HELP WANTED: Required skills include advanced rope climbing, rope rigging, fiberglass repair, plus ability to work at heights of several hundred feet, sometimes in high winds. Seasonal work mostly between spring and fall, with travel to various locations for four to six weeks at a time. Do you have what it takes?
A. Rope-access technician Jessica Kilroy does, one of only two women in the field who repair wind turbine blades all over the globe, reported “Sierra” magazine from an interview by Kristine Wong. Combining her climbing interest with a strong conservationist bent, Kilroy works for Rope Partners, where she ascends 300-foot turbine towers wearing a heavy harness with her tools and gear.
As she describes it, “First we climb a ladder in the inside of the tower and anchor our ropes (a main rope and a backup). Then we rappel off the nose cone and secure ourselves to the blunt side of the wind turbine blade.” Special care must be taken with the other side, since it is so sharp it could cut her rope. And each turbine’s blades are different, so she’ll often be on the phone with the engineers while up in the air. Moreover, some jobs require her being on the tower for 6-8 hours, often in high winds.
The job has definitely changed her, Kilroy says. “Whenever I’m not working, all the other things in life—like people bickering—don’t bother me. I have peace and patience for all the other moments in my life.”
Q. What does “the sting of the wild” feel like?
A. That’s what entomologist Justin Schmidt wondered many times over as he subjected himself voluntarily to be bitten by 80 different insects as described in his book of the above title, says Sid Perkins in “Science News” magazine. Instead of just going to a lab and using test tubes and photos and computer simulations, Schmidt put his body on the line as he experienced stinging ants, wasps and bees (among others).
When he was done, he had developed a “pain index” for each sting, ranging from 1 to – OW! for all but a handful of species. “While the sting of one bee species merited a mere 0.5 (‘Did I just imagine that?’), the pain from a warrior wasp sting scored a 4 (‘Torture. You are chained in the flow of an active volcano. Why did I start this list?’).”
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Bill is a journalist, Rich holds a doctorate in physics. Together the brothers bring you “Strange But True.” Send your questions to strangetrue@compuserve.com.