Faculty From UT Austin, Shanghai and Sweden Research Beetle That Inspires New Cooling Materials
- Jun 30, 2021
A type of beetle capable of regulating its body temperature in some of the hottest places on Earth is the centerpiece of new research with major potential implications for cooling everything from buildings to electronic devices in an environmentally friendly manner.
Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, with teams from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, have discovered new information about a species of longhorn beetle that can cool its body enough to survive in volcanic areas in Southeast Asia. They used that information to create a photonic film based on the beetle’s wing structure using common, flexible materials that are mechanically strong and can be manufactured on a large scale. The film passively cools, meaning it doesn’t take up energy like the systems we use to keep temperatures down in our cars and buildings.
Read the full article from the Cockrell School of Engineering.
