Have you ever imagined a photovoltaic system that produces electricity without sunlight? Even it’s hard to believe, MIT researchers developed such a photovoltaic system that can run only on heat. Using any source of heat, this system will be able to generate electricity, giving the necessary boost to the future of renewable energy.
On its surface, this photovoltaic system has billions of tiny nano-pits that can convert heat into precise wavelengths of light. The produced light enables the photovoltaic system to generate electricity from it.
Using this new technology researchers have built a very small power generator. The micro-TPV power generator was designed around a micro-reactor that works as the nucleus of the machine.
Designed by Klavs Jensen, a professor of chemical engineering, the generator is powered by butane and is said to work three times longer than a lithium-ion battery (at the same size). It can be also recharged instantly by simply adding fresh fuel into it.
These new sun-free photovoltaics could be very useful in the area of nano-technology, creating alternatives for powering small devices as sensors, smartphones, laptops etc.
Source: Ecofriend
