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posted by martyb on Friday September 28 2018, @02:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the does-it-cool-up-in-Australia? dept.

Polymer-Coated Buildings:

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have invented a high-performance exterior PDRC [passive daytime radiative cooling] polymer coating with nano-to-microscale air voids that acts as a spontaneous air cooler and can be fabricated, dyed, and applied like paint on rooftops, buildings, water tanks, vehicles, even spacecraft -- anything that can be painted. They used a solution-based phase-inversion technique that gives the polymer a porous foam-like structure. The air voids in the porous polymer scatter and reflect sunlight, due to the difference in the refractive index between the air voids and the surrounding polymer. The polymer turns white and thus avoids solar heating, while its intrinsic emittance causes it to efficiently lose heat to the sky.

Journal Reference:
J. Mandal, Y. Fu, A. Overvig, M. Jia, K. Sun, N. Shi, H. Zhou, X. Xiao, N. Yu, Y. Yang. Hierarchically porous polymer coatings for highly efficient passive daytime radiative cooling. Science, 2018; eaat9513 DOI: 10.1126/science.aat9513

The new desert home paint?


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Immerman on Friday September 28 2018, @03:15PM (9 children)

    by Immerman (3985) on Friday September 28 2018, @03:15PM (#741365)

    A "paint" that causes surfaces in direct sunlight to become cooler than the ambient air? Now that's impressive, especially if it has the potential to be produced cheaply.

    The first question that springs to mind though is - how do you keep that micro-porous surface clean? Seems like it would be a huge dirt magnet, and any protective coating would need some pretty impressive properties itself to avoid crippling the radiative properties of the surface beneath it.

    Perhaps the better question is, how long will it remain effective as grime accumulates on it? And can it be cleaned effectively?

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by KilroySmith on Friday September 28 2018, @03:23PM (7 children)

    by KilroySmith (2113) on Friday September 28 2018, @03:23PM (#741370)

    I live in Phoenix, AZ, and would be remarkably interested.
    A common building technique here is to use a flat roof with a white elastomeric coating on it for rainproofing. When you don't have to worry about snow loads, there's no real reason to build a pitched roof, donchaknow. Anyway, the roof is expected to be recoated about every 5 years - otherwise cracks and general weathering start to deteriorate the base layers leading to an expensive tear-up and replacement. A substance such as this that would last 5 years and then get renewed with a recoat would be fine. Heck, if it's as good as they say, having to recoat once a year would probably still put me ahead on A/C costs.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by realDonaldTrump on Friday September 28 2018, @04:20PM (6 children)

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Friday September 28 2018, @04:20PM (#741395) Homepage Journal

      Very easy and you don't have to wait for this one. You go to your hardware store. And you ask for the Solar Reflective Paint Additive. Trust me, you'll save BIG on your AC with that one. And it works with every color of paint -- even black!!!!

      • (Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 28 2018, @04:34PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 28 2018, @04:34PM (#741405)

        I hope there's a special place in hell for you. There aren't any beachfront properties or golf courses where you're going, you sick bastard. What good will solar reflective paint do you in the eternal fires of damnation? How's that going to save you when they throw you in the lake of fire? I hope it's teeming with sharks, just for shitstains like you.

        • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday September 29 2018, @04:57AM

          by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Saturday September 29 2018, @04:57AM (#741704) Homepage Journal

          That one's between me and God. And I think God likes me A LOT. He made me VERY SMART. Put me in a fantastic Family. In the best Country. And I've made a lot of very very smart decisions. But I've also had tremendous luck. God gave me a beautiful Brain and beautiful Luck. Like nobody else has. I thank Him for that. I'm always thanking Him. And I've done a lot for God -- more than anybody else has ever done. Especially since I went into politics. I picked Mike Pence, very strong God person. Religious. I moved my Embassy to Jerusalem -- fulfilling a Prophecy. Making the Bible come true. And I nominated Brett K., very devout Catholic, for SC. Very strong moves for God. If you were God you'd be very happy right now. And you could say, my agenda is God's agenda. Many people are saying that!!!

      • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 28 2018, @05:43PM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 28 2018, @05:43PM (#741444)

        So let me make a wild guess here. Bill Spaulding is a golfing pal and/or you own a bunch of RPM stock.

        • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday September 29 2018, @03:18AM (2 children)

          by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Saturday September 29 2018, @03:18AM (#741665) Homepage Journal

          I didn't say Rust-Oleum. We love Rust-Oleum. But there are many brands. 3M, so many. We love ENVIRONMENTAL. And we've gotten many awards for environmental. More than anybody.

  • (Score: 3, Touché) by DannyB on Friday September 28 2018, @06:42PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 28 2018, @06:42PM (#741472) Journal

    how do you keep that micro-porous surface clean?

    Take off your science hat. Put on your manager hat. That is a problem which occurs only AFTER we have their money.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.