As beneficial as current solar panel technology has been in our quest to switch to renewable energy, such panels can't generate electricity at night.

就像目前的太阳能电池板技术在我们转向可再生能源方面所起的作用一样，这种电池板不能在夜间发电。

Now, new research suggests it could be possible to design panels that can operate around the clock.

现在，新的研究表明，设计可以全天候工作的面板是可能的。

Under optimum conditions, at night these specially designed photovoltaic cells could generate a quarter of the energy they produce during the day, according to the new study.

根据这项新的研究，在最佳条件下，这些特别设计的光伏电池在夜间可以产生它们白天产生的四分之一的能量。

To achieve this, we'd need to incorporate thermoradiative cells - devices that generate energy thanks to radiative cooling, where infrared or heat radiation leaves the cell and produces a small amount of energy in the process.

为了实现这一点，我们需要加入热辐射电池-通过辐射冷却产生能量的设备，其中红外线或热辐射离开细胞并在此过程中产生少量能量。

Thermoradiative cells are already being tested in fields such as manufacturing, where they are used to convert waste heat, such as the high temperatures generated by an engine.

热辐射电池已经在制造业等领域进行测试，在那里它们被用来转换余热，例如发动机产生的高温。

In the case of a night-time solar panel, pointing such a cell at the cold night sky is a way to harness this process.

在夜间太阳能电池板的情况下，将这样的电池指向寒冷的夜空就是利用这一过程的一种方式。

How thermoradiative cells (right) compare to solar cells (left).

热辐射电池(右)与太阳能电池(左)的比较。

(Tristan Deppe/Jeremy Munday)

(特里斯坦·德普/杰里米·芒迪)

"We were thinking, what if we took one of these devices and put it in a warm area and pointed it at the sky," says electrical and computer engineer Jeremy Munday, from the University of California, Davis.

加州大学戴维斯分校的电气和计算机工程师杰里米·芒迪(Jeremy Munday)说：“我们当时在想，如果我们把这些设备中的一个放在一个温暖的地方，并把它指向天空，会怎么样。”

To achieve this effect with infrared radiation, we'd require different kinds of materials to regular solar panels, which tend to focus on visible light (though researchers have also experimented with cells that can capture both).

为了用红外辐射达到这种效果，我们需要不同种类的材料来制作常规太阳能电池板，这些太阳能电池板倾向于聚焦于可见光(尽管研究人员也试验了可以同时捕获两者的电池)。

The next step is to figure out what mix of materials and electronics might produce an effective panel that can use the night sky and space as a heat sink.

下一步是弄清楚什么材料和电子设备的混合可以产生一个有效的面板，可以利用夜空和空间作为散热片。

The underlying maths, however, checks out.

然而，基本的数学知识得到了验证。