Anusha
02-02-2007, 06:38 AM
Soon you will be able to turn your home into a house of mirrors
The Energy Control Thin Film Group of the Materials Research Institute for Sustainable Development at the National Institute of Advance Industrial Science and Technology developed a type of thin film that can be switched between reflective and transparent states.
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/4899/3760fig1mirrorstateyj7.jpg
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/7710/3761fig2transparentstatwu6.jpg
The thin-film uses a uniform layer of magnesium-titanium alloy on sheets of glass that can be sized to 60x70 cm and allows for a complete change from transparent to reflective and back again. The mirror is composed of two sheets of glass with the thin-film and an empty cavity between them. The empty cavity then can be filled with a gas composed of low-concentrated (about 1%) hydrogen and oxygen (concentrated to about 20%). The gas acts as a switch for the change in transparency.
The thin-film is created by a method of sputtering magnesium and titanium onto a plate. The combination layer has a thickness of about 40nm thick with another layer of palladium at about 4nm thick coating the surface which allows for the switch.
This new type of development will have a major impact on energy conservation. AIST claims that the switchable mirror will reduce energy consumption by air conditioners by 30%. Also this material can be produced to fit homes and automobiles with the size standards due to the easy availability of materials.
Other research groups have attempted to produce the changing mirror, but have all had the same result of a slight tint in the transparent stage. Other types of glass were developed, where the windows changed color using electrical signals. The problem with the color changing glass is that they would produce too much heat and therefore create the opposite impact on energy consumption. AIST has developed a way to avoid absorption and work on reflection.
The group's next step is to work on the glass's durability while maintaining low costs. Affordability and durability will hopefully lead the product into home and automobiles in the next few years.
The Energy Control Thin Film Group of the Materials Research Institute for Sustainable Development at the National Institute of Advance Industrial Science and Technology developed a type of thin film that can be switched between reflective and transparent states.
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/4899/3760fig1mirrorstateyj7.jpg
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/7710/3761fig2transparentstatwu6.jpg
The thin-film uses a uniform layer of magnesium-titanium alloy on sheets of glass that can be sized to 60x70 cm and allows for a complete change from transparent to reflective and back again. The mirror is composed of two sheets of glass with the thin-film and an empty cavity between them. The empty cavity then can be filled with a gas composed of low-concentrated (about 1%) hydrogen and oxygen (concentrated to about 20%). The gas acts as a switch for the change in transparency.
The thin-film is created by a method of sputtering magnesium and titanium onto a plate. The combination layer has a thickness of about 40nm thick with another layer of palladium at about 4nm thick coating the surface which allows for the switch.
This new type of development will have a major impact on energy conservation. AIST claims that the switchable mirror will reduce energy consumption by air conditioners by 30%. Also this material can be produced to fit homes and automobiles with the size standards due to the easy availability of materials.
Other research groups have attempted to produce the changing mirror, but have all had the same result of a slight tint in the transparent stage. Other types of glass were developed, where the windows changed color using electrical signals. The problem with the color changing glass is that they would produce too much heat and therefore create the opposite impact on energy consumption. AIST has developed a way to avoid absorption and work on reflection.
The group's next step is to work on the glass's durability while maintaining low costs. Affordability and durability will hopefully lead the product into home and automobiles in the next few years.