Researchers at Duke University and Boston College have created
what could become the perfect solution to solar energy. They
have engineered a metamaterial that utilizes tiny geometric
shapes to absorb both the electrical and magnetic properties of
electromagnetic waves over a certain frequency range at a level
that meets standards of scientific perfection. This results in
the total absorption of light, turning it into heat, which can
then create energy. Willie J Padilla, lead researcher for the
team at Boston College, says the metamaterial is designed to
ensure that all the light hitting it is neither reflected nor
transmitted, but instead is entirely turned to heat and
absorbed. This works with light at only a very narrow frequency
range, but is a big step forward – perhaps eventually even more
so than the Russian “Star Battery.” Metamaterials are designed
in such a way that their physical components gain new properties
that allow them to respond to radiation in “tailored” ways. This
is the first metamateria