Scientists develop camel-inspired material to keep things cool without electricity

Scientists have developed a new camel-inspired material to keep fresh or medicinal foods cool at high temperatures without the need for electricity.

The new technology, developed by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a two-layer passive cooling system, which is said to keep things cool up to five times longer than conventional solutions.

The solution mimics the way camels manage to control their body temperature with their fur: tests have shown that under the same climatic conditions, a shaved camel loses 50% more moisture than an unshaven animal.

The team behind the development used the airgel to provide an insulation layer and the hydrogel used for a bottom layer.

Airgel is made of silica, which is mostly beach sand and is therefore cheap and abundant.

The hydrogel in the lower layer is a substance consisting mainly of water and is contained in a spongy matrix from which water can evaporate easily.

This is covered with a top layer of airgel, which plays the part of the camel’s fur by keeping out the external heat and allowing the vapor to pass through.

Scientists say a startup is already working to bring the technology to market: it plans to use the technology to make windows with thermal insulation.