The most immediate use of the technology is to create windows that can be programmed to absorb or reflect heat, depending on the needs of a building’s occupants, said lead investigator Kenneth Chau, a professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.
“What’s interesting about this discovery is that it’s counterintuitive, because we always think of metals as being opaque, so it runs against our expectations,” he said. “I think one of the most important implications of this research is the potential to integrate electronic capabilities into windows and make them smart.”
But weren’t we all expecting glass to get a lot smarter? “That’s true. When you watch Iron Man movies, they have displays on glass, they do computations on glass. This is a tiny step in that direction,” he said.
Chau and associate Loic Markley sprayed silver atoms in a vacuum to create a layer of metal on glass just a few billionths of a metre thick. While conventional glass does not conduct electricity, the metal layer creates an object with very different properties and the possibility of adding a variety of advanced technologies to a brilliantly transparent surface.
For now, Chau intends to apply his efforts to creating sustainable building materials.
— Vancouver Sun
