Because of the material's uniquely diametric state transitions and properties, it gives itself naturally to negative feedback (self-regulating systems) -- for example, as a coating in space windows that reflects more radiation as the temperature increases. Not to mention the regulation of heat/electrical conductivity which is the primary subject of the article, in which the material behaves like an exotic semiconductor:<p>“This material could be used to help stabilize temperature,” said study co-lead author Fan Yang, a postdoctoral researcher at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry, a DOE Office of Science User Facility where some of the research was done. “By tuning its thermal conductivity, the material can efficiently and automatically dissipate heat in the hot summer because it will have high thermal conductivity, but prevent heat loss in the cold winter because of its low thermal conductivity at lower temperatures.”
That... is the great breakthrough that many people were waiting for in thermoelectric generation.<p>Tell me it can be easily manufactured and we have a winner. This has the potential of making solid state thermal plants, where no moving parts would be required to transform heat into electricity.
link: <a href="http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2017/01/26/electricity-not-heat-flows-in-vanadium-dioxide/" rel="nofollow">http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2017/01/26/electricity-not-heat-fl...</a><p>I wish they included some more numbers. The paper is paywalled: <a href="http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2017/01/26/electricity-not-heat-flows-in-vanadium-dioxide/" rel="nofollow">http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2017/01/26/electricity-not-heat-fl...</a><p>I think Fig 1 on page 3 applies: <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1601.06246.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://arxiv.org/pdf/1601.06246.pdf</a> so it's 100ohms/cm vs 0.0001ohms/cm for the best example. Still looking for thermal conductivity.
Given some of the comments here I think it's important to note that the thermal properties of Vanadium are well known and the metal has been used for years in high-speed steel and alloys, such as Chrome Moly Vanadium, where heat is the enemy.<p>This discovery in regard to conductivity could be game changing, but it's not really a surprise.
This is basically unobtanium [1]<p>[1]<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_HhiU1mOwU" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_HhiU1mOwU</a>