Here's How We Can Generate Electricity From The Night Sky

Solar energy is considered a reliable renewable energy source for humans. Even so, extreme and different weather conditions make solar power become irregular. Normally, in order to convert solar energy into electrical energy, a large-scale photovoltaic method of optoelectronic principle is needed. Semiconductor materials are also used to convert light particles or photons originating from the Sun into electricity through stimulating electrons in a material such as silicon. 

In fact, not all places on Earth have such a reliable and continuous source of solar energy. Recently, however, scientists have found a new way to generate electricity, by studying the significant difference between the cold temperatures of space and the temperate atmosphere of the Earth.

Specifically, Wei Li and Shanhui Fan, who are engineers at Stanford University, along with University of California Los Angeles and materials scientist Aaswath Raman, have successfully invented a way to generate electricity through the transfer of remaining heat during the day on cooling air. Instead of using photovoltaic methods, they compressed the electricity from the heat of light emanating from the surface of the planet, which is heated by the Sun.

They call this process the "negative radiation effect". Accordingly, the photodiodes perform backward as photons under the form of infrared radiation. They leave the system and a small amount of energy is generated in the process.

Although the above test can only generate a small amount of power, specifically 64 nanowatt per square meter (or 10.8 square feet), researchers and scientists predict that if there is a suitable combination in a workable condition, there will be a production of four watts per square meter.

This is really a great initiative and can pave the way for further research in the future through such a prototype. Even in its most primitive form, the finding could help the operation of low-power devices and machines, such as hearing aids or laser pointers, at night.