Sponge Converts Sunlight Into Steam for Electricity
JUL 22, 2014 09:49 AM ET //
Nearly all utility plants generate electricity with steam. Whether it’s a coal plant or a nuclear plant or a solar thermal plant, all of these facilities use fuel to heat water to create steam that turns a turbine that generates electricity.
Now researchers at MIT have developed a completely new structure for turning sunlight into steam: a sponge. The advance could one day lead to an efficient, inexpensive and emission-free way for creating steam that could be used to not only generate steam for energy but also for desalination and sterilization.
Credit: MIT/Chen, Ghasemi, et al.
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