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Smart Glass
Smart glass or switchable glass (also called a smart window or switchable window) is a glass or glazing whose light transmission properties dynamically alter to control the passage of solar irradiation into buildings. In general, the glass changes between transparent and translucent and vice versa, either letting light pass through or blocking some or all wavelengths of light. Smart glass technologies tend to use materials that are electrochromic, photochromic, or thermochromic. When installed in the envelope of buildings, smart glass helps to create climate adaptive building shells, providing benefits such as natural light adjustment, visual comfort, UV and infrared blocking, reduced energy use, thermal comfort, resistance to extreme weather conditions, and privacy. Some smart windows can self-adapt to heat or cool for energy conservation in buildings. Smart windows can eliminate the need for blinds, shades or window treatments. Some effects can be obtained by lamin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), commonly referred to as the Berkeley Lab, is a United States national laboratory that is owned by, and conducts scientific research on behalf of, the United States Department of Energy. Located in the hills of Berkeley, California, the lab overlooks the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, and is managed by the University of California system. History 1931–1941 The laboratory was founded on August 26, 1931, by Ernest Lawrence, as the Radiation Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley, associated with the Physics Department. It centered physics research around his new instrument, the cyclotron, a type of particle accelerator for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939. Throughout the 1930s, Lawrence pushed to create larger and larger machines for physics research, courting private philanthropists for funding. He was the first to develop a large team to build big projects to make discove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chromism
In chemistry, chromism is a process that induces a change, often reversible, in the colors of compounds. In most cases, chromism is based on a change in the electron states of molecules, especially the π- or d-electron state, so this phenomenon is induced by various external stimuli which can alter the electron density of substances. It is known that there are many natural compounds that have chromism, and many artificial compounds with specific chromism have been synthesized to date. It is usually synonymous with chromotropism, the (reversible) change in color of a substance due to the physical and chemical properties of its ambient surrounding medium, such as temperature and pressure, light, solvent, and presence of ions and electrons. Chromism is classified by what kind of stimuli are used. Examples of the major kinds of chromism are as follows. * thermochromism is chromism that is induced by heat, that is, a change of temperature. This is the most common chromism of all. * p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Refractive Index
In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or refracted, when entering a material. This is described by Snell's law of refraction, , where ''θ''1 and ''θ''2 are the angle of incidence and angle of refraction, respectively, of a ray crossing the interface between two media with refractive indices ''n''1 and ''n''2. The refractive indices also determine the amount of light that is reflected when reaching the interface, as well as the critical angle for total internal reflection, their intensity ( Fresnel's equations) and Brewster's angle. The refractive index can be seen as the factor by which the speed and the wavelength of the radiation are reduced with respect to their vacuum values: the speed of light in a medium is , and similarly the wavelength in that medium is , wher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydrophile
A hydrophile is a molecule or other molecular entity that is attracted to water molecules and tends to be dissolved by water.Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. In contrast, hydrophobes are not attracted to water and may seem to be repelled by it. Hygroscopics ''are'' attracted to water, but are not dissolved by water. Molecules A hydrophilic molecule or portion of a molecule is one whose interactions with water and other polar substances are more thermodynamically favorable than their interactions with oil or other hydrophobic solvents. They are typically charge-polarized and capable of hydrogen bonding. This makes these molecules soluble not only in water but also in other polar solvents. Hydrophilic molecules (and portions of molecules) can be contrasted with hydrophobic molecules (and portions of molecules). In some cases, both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties occur in a single molecule. An example of these amphiphi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Research Council (Canada)
The National Research Council Canada (NRC; french: Conseil national de recherches Canada) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research & development. It is the largest federal research & development organization in Canada. The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (currently, François-Philippe Champagne) is responsible for the NRC. Mandate NRC is an agency of the Government of Canada, and its mandate is set out in the '' National Research Council Act''. Under the Act, the NRC is responsible for: * Undertaking, assisting or promoting scientific and industrial research in fields of importance to Canada; * Providing vital scientific and technological services to the research and industrial communities; * Investigating standards and methods of measurement; * Working on the standardization and certification of scientific and technical apparatus, instruments and materials used or usable by Canadian in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transparent Conducting Oxide
Transparent conducting films (TCFs) are thin films of optically transparent and electrically conductive material. They are an important component in a number of electronic devices including liquid-crystal displays, OLEDs, touchscreens and photovoltaics. While indium tin oxide (ITO) is the most widely used, alternatives include wider-spectrum transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), conductive polymers, metal grids and random metallic networks, carbon nanotubes (CNT), graphene, nanowire meshes and ultra thin metal films. TCFs for photovoltaic applications have been fabricated from both inorganic and organic materials. Inorganic films typically are made up of a layer of transparent conducting oxide (TCO),Conductive Oxide Thin Films Materion Technical Paper, "Transparent Conduct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liquid Crystal
Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. There are many types of LC phases, which can be distinguished by their optical properties (such as textures). The contrasting textures arise due to molecules within one area of material ("domain") being oriented in the same direction but different areas having different orientations. LC materials may not always be in a LC state of matter (just as water may be ice or water vapor). Liquid crystals can be divided into 3 main types: * thermotropic, * lyotropic, and * metallotropic. Thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals consist mostly of organic molecules, although a few minerals are also known. Thermotropic LCs exhibit a phase transition into the LC phase as temperature changes. Lyotropic LCs exhibit phase transitions as a function of b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electrode
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or air). Electrodes are essential parts of batteries that can consist of a variety of materials depending on the type of battery. The electrophore, invented by Johan Wilcke, was an early version of an electrode used to study static electricity. Anode and cathode in electrochemical cells Electrodes are an essential part of any battery. The first electrochemical battery made was devised by Alessandro Volta and was aptly named the Voltaic cell. This battery consisted of a stack of copper and zinc electrodes separated by brine-soaked paper disks. Due to fluctuation in the voltage provided by the voltaic cell it wasn't very practical. The first practical battery was invented in 1839 and named the Daniell cell after John Frederic Daniell. Still making use of the zinc–copper electrode combination. Since then many more batteries h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chromogen
In chemistry, the term chromogen refers to a colourless (or faintly coloured) chemical compound that can be converted by chemical reaction into a compound which can be described as "coloured". There is no universally agreed definition of the term. Various dictionaries give the following definitions: * A substance capable of conversion into a pigment or dye. * Any substance that can become a pigment or coloring matter, a substance in organic fluids that forms colored compounds when oxidized, or a compound, not itself a dye, that can become a dye. * Any substance, itself without color, giving origin to a coloring matter. In biochemistry the term has a rather different meaning. The following are found in various dictionaries. * A precursor of a biochemical pigment * A pigment-producing microorganism * Any of certain bacteria that produce a pigment * A strongly pigmented or pigment-generating organelle, organ, or microorganism. Applications in chemistry *In chromogenic photography, fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indium Tin Oxide
Indium tin oxide (ITO) is a ternary composition of indium, tin and oxygen in varying proportions. Depending on the oxygen content, it can be described as either a ceramic or an alloy. Indium tin oxide is typically encountered as an oxygen-saturated composition with a formulation of 74% In, 18% Sn, and 8% O by weight. Oxygen-saturated compositions are so typical that unsaturated compositions are termed ''oxygen-deficient ITO''. It is transparent and colorless in thin layers, while in bulk form it is yellowish to gray. In the infrared region of the spectrum it acts as a metal-like mirror. Indium tin oxide is one of the most widely used transparent conducting oxides because of its electrical conductivity and optical transparency, the ease with which it can be deposited as a thin film, and its chemical resistance to moisture. As with all transparent conducting films, a compromise must be made between conductivity and transparency, since increasing the thickness and increasing the concent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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