To build a better roof coating, try vanadium oxide.
“The whole point of our work is that our roof works not only in hot weather, but also in cold weather,” says
The sun’s Earth-warming infrared rays can pass through vanadium oxide, when the material is at room temperature. But when the compound heats up to 153°F , its properties alter—it changes phase. It starts to block those infrared rays, effectively shadowing what lies underneath. In other words, it lets in the sun when it’s cool, and keeps the sun out when it’s warm.
The researchers believed they had pinpointed the right material. But they needed a place to test it. “You cannot just do it in the lab,” says Wu, “because in the lab, you don’t get sunlight, you don’t get wind, you don’t face the sky.”
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