Catching some rays — lots of them
New MIT design for a metamaterial could be far more efficient at capturing sunlight than existing solar cells.
Turning heat into power
A new kind of high-temperature photonic crystal could someday power everything from smartphones to spacecraft.
A novel way to concentrate sun’s heat
MIT researchers find a way to generate power without the usual mirror arrays.
Graphene shows unusual thermoelectric response to light
Finding could lead to new photodetectors or energy-harvesting devices.
Explained: Thermoelectricity
Turning temperature differences directly into electricity could be an efficient way of harnessing heat that is wasted in cars and power plants.