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mhajicek [soylentnews.org] writes:

"Cui and colleagues made the outer layer out of silica fibers coated with flakes of hexagonal boron nitride, a material that is the thickness of just a few atoms. The silica fibers reflect visible light while the boron nitride reflects ultraviolet light, so the materials together reflect 96 percent of the sunlight that hits the fabric. The outer layer also absorbs heat from its surroundings and emits it as infrared radiation, which further lowers the temperature under the cloak."

"To demonstrate how the cloak could withstand extreme conditions of aerospace, the researchers heated it to 800°C and immersed it in liquid nitrogen. They also blasted it with acid and a blow torch to show. The material did not lose its performance.

The team also made a full-size cloak and tested it outdoors in Shanghai by covering an electric car with it. During the summer, the cabin temperature of an uncovered car reached over 50°C at mid-day, but that of a cloak-covered car reached only about 23°C, 27°C lower than the uncovered car and almost 8°C lower than the temperature outside the car. During winter nights, the cloak kept the car almost 7°C warmer than the outside air."

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2023/07/thermal-cloak-keeps-things-cool-when-its-hot-and-warm-in-the-cold/ [anthropocenemagazine.org]

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