Incident radiation flux → Electrical work

Matrix context

D = disequilibrium row · C = coupling family column. A cell reads the state of the atlas for that pair.

D.11 × C.20 · Incident radiation flux × Photothermalfamily: PhotothermalD.11 × C.08 · Incident radiation flux × Heat engine (thermomechanical)family: Heat engine (thermomechanical)D.11 × C.11 · Incident radiation flux × Flexoelectricfamily: Flexoelectric

Typed bounds on this route

Every limit the atlas holds for this route, as constraint records: reached through bounded_by claims on the route's own entities. Hard bounds (an upper bound or a formula) decide the thermodynamic-bound check above; benchmarks, constitutive relations and resource limits are listed and never decisive. No prose limit exists anywhere (pass 42).

• Landsberg limit · formula-bound · hard, applies to this route
  η ≤ 1 − (4/3)(T_c/T_s) + (1/3)(T_c/T_s)⁴ for conversion of blackbody radiation at T_s with a sink at T_c; 93.3 % at 6000 K / 300 K
• Carnot limit · formula-bound · hard, applies to this route
  η ≤ 1 − T_c/T_h for any heat engine between reservoirs at T_h and T_c

Steps

1. 01
   Incident radiation flux —drives→ Photothermal absorptionestablishedclaim record

   radiative → thermal

   • an absorber with high solar absorptance; selective surfaces suppress re-emission

   illumination required

   refs [1] [2]
2. 02
   Photothermal absorption —produces→ Temperature gradientestablishedclaim record

   thermal → thermal

   refs [1]
3. 03
   Temperature gradient —drives→ Thermal expansionestablishedclaim record

   thermal → mechanical

   refs [1] [3]
4. 04
   Thermal expansion —produces→ Mechanical stress or strainestablishedclaim record

   mechanical → mechanical

   • non-uniform thermal expansion is mechanically incompatible across adjacent regions of a solid, or is constrained by an adjoining material or structure, producing a strain or stress gradient; the constraining region may be the cooler part of the same continuous specimen rather than a separate stiffer body

   solid

   refs [4] [3]
5. 05
   Mechanical stress or strain —drives→ Flexoelectric effectestablishedclaim record

   mechanical → electrical · loss to thermal

   P = μ · ∇ε · flexoelectric coefficient μ [C/m]

   • the required strain gradient may be generated mechanically (e.g. bending) or by spatially non-uniform thermal expansion; uniform strain alone does not produce bulk flexoelectric polarization in a centrosymmetric dielectric
   • coefficients are small in bulk (nC/m) and useful only at the nanoscale or in thin films

   solid · dielectric required

   refs [5] [3]
6. 06
   Flexoelectric effect —produces→ Separated surface chargeestablishedclaim record

   electrical → electrical

   refs [5] [3]
7. 07
   Separated surface charge —converts into→ Electrical workestablishedclaim record

   electrical → electrical · loss to thermal

   • electrodes on the charged surfaces connected through a load

   refs [6]

Evidence for the complete composition · 0

No source on record for this exact composition. The sources below support the individual steps, not the route as a whole.

Evidence for the constituent relations · 6

1. [1]
   A. Bejan. Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics (4th ed.) (2016)

   Wiley · doi:10.1002/9781119245964 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
2. [2]
   P. T. Landsberg, G. Tonge. Thermodynamic energy conversion efficiencies (1980)

   Journal of Applied Physics 51, R1–R20 · doi:10.1063/1.328187 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
3. [3]
   S. Iwakiri, Y. Miyata, T. Mori. Observation of universal thermopolarization effect in insulators (2026)

   arXiv:2605.17224 (17 May 2026), National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba · arxiv.org/abs/2605.17224 · record
4. [4]
   J. F. Nye. Physical Properties of Crystals: Their Representation by Tensors and Matrices (1985)

   Oxford University Press · book, no DOI · record
5. [5]
   P. Zubko, G. Catalan, A. K. Tagantsev. Flexoelectric effect in solids (2013)

   Annual Review of Materials Research 43, 387–421 · doi:10.1146/annurev-matsci-071312-121634 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
6. [6]
   H. B. Radousky, H. Liang. Energy harvesting: an integrated view of materials, devices and applications (2012)

   Nanotechnology 23, 502001 · doi:10.1088/0957-4484/23/50/502001 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record