Buildings and Clothes Could Melt to Save Energy
The sun has risen, and a brand new building on the University of Washington’s campus in Seattle is about to melt. It is no design flaw: encapsulated within the walls and ceiling panels is a gel that solidifies at night and melts with the warmth of the day. Known as a phase change material, the gel will help reduce the amount of energy needed to cool office space in the building — scheduled to house the molecular engineering department when completed this month — by a whopping 98 per cent. [New Scientist, 7 Jan 2012]