Researchers Design 3-Degree Heat-Radiation Device That Sidesteps 160-Year-Old Physics Rule
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · Aug 4
Researchers Design 3-Degree Heat-Radiation Device That Sidesteps 160-Year-Old Physics Rule
2 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Aug 4
Summary
A June 25 study outlines a theoretical device that can steer heat radiation by direction and retain that setting after power is cut, potentially enabling more efficient energy systems and heat-based information functions.
The design bypasses Kirchhoff reciprocity—a roughly 160-year-old rule tying heat absorption and emission together—by combining magnetically biased indium arsenide with phase-change GST, which locks in the programmed response without continuous power.
Just 3 degrees off normal incidence, the device still shows strong directional control, a practical improvement over earlier approaches that worked mainly at steep angles.
The system has not been built or tested, but an MIT materials professor said it appears feasible with established materials and fabrication methods, though the current GST thickness could hinder repeated switching.
Infrared sensing is seen as the likeliest first application if that switching hurdle is solved, because compact direction-selective heat absorption would be immediately useful there.