Revolutionary Device Enhances Energy Harvesting Efficiency

Researchers at Caltech have developed a device that breaks Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation, which states that the absorptive and emissive efficiencies of an object are equal. By decoupling these efficiencies, the device could have implications for energy harvesting systems and the development of camouflage. The device combines a material with a strong magnetic-field response and a patterned structure to enhance absorption and emission in infrared wavelengths. The experimental proof of breaking Kirchhoff's law could lead to higher energy conversion efficiencies and has been published in the journal Nature Photonics.