A coating based on glass and aluminum would be able to reflect almost all of the solar radiation to reduce the Earth’s temperature. It would also be extremely durable.
Mainly due to pollution, the planet is warming inexorably for years at an increasingly alarming rate. The consequences are known. Melting ice, increased risk of flooding, rising average temperatures… With the vicious circle that this implies: it gets hotter and hotter, we turn on more and more air conditioning, which pollutes more, etc.
Faced with the situation, many people are trying to do their part. Even big companies like Google are taking the topic seriously by announcing measures against climate change. The objective is simple on paper: reduce the rise in temperatures as much as possible. For this, there are several possibilities, some of which come straight out of a science fiction film like this sun visor managing in space. However, this is where a concrete solution lies, namely reflect solar radiation back into space.
A painting manages to reflect almost 100% of solar radiation to cool the Earth
A team of researchers from the University of Maryland has developed a type of paint based on glass particles and aluminum oxide cheap. Applied to coatings such as roofs of buildings where the roads, it could reflect up to 99% of sunlight. “Might” because so far this impressive result has only been measured in the laboratory.
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The Earth naturally cools by reflecting solar radiation back into space. The paint in question speeds up the process by reflecting sunlight inside the atmospheric transparency window. This is a range of the electromagnetic spectrum that can pass through the Earth’s atmosphere and escape into space without increasing the planet’s temperature. In other words : space becomes a heat sinklike the one we put on certain electronic components.
Available in four colors, the coating can last at least 30 years. It resists temperatures up to 1000° Celsius, water and flames. By cooling the planet, this time a virtuous circle could be created, reducing the need to use air conditioning and what follows.
Source: Space.com