Solar Cells

Science

How To Print 3000km Of Solar Cells A Year

3:00AM September 1, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

You’re looking at the Applied Bacini Pegaso — one of the most productive solar cell printing lines on the planet — fabricating electrical circuits on both sides of a solar cell. And by productive, I mean 20 million cells a year, enough to power 10,000 typical US homes. More »


Science

New Technology That Captures "exciton" Particles Could Replace Today’s Solar Cells

1:20PM October 1, 2010 | Alasdair Wilkins

Even the most efficient solar cell loses a lot of energy in the form of wasted heat. But the electron-like particles that photons emit as they enter the cells could be turned into electrical energy, solving the heat loss problem. More »


Science

Tiny Solar Cells Can Rebuild Themselves

1:00AM September 7, 2010 | Gary Cutlack

Minuscule solar cells that can fix themselves using the same building blocks as plant cells have been demonstrated, with our old friend the carbon nanotube one of the key components that holds these self-healing power units together. More »


Science

MIT’s Self-Assembling Solar Cells Recycle Themselves Repeatedly

6:40AM September 3, 2010 | Clay Dillow - PopSci

Plants are extremely efficient converters of light into energy, setting the bar for researchers creating photovoltaic cells. A team of MIT scientists believe they’ve created a synthetic chloroplast that can be broken down and reassembled repeatedly, restoring sun-damaged solar cells. More »


Science

Future Solar Cells Will Be Made From Fly Eyes To Maximise Efficiency

12:00PM August 1, 2010 | Casey Chan

Scientists believe that fly eyes are perfectly shaped for manufacturing efficient solar cells. Specifically, copying the eye of the Blowfly would allow solar cells to “collect sunlight from a larger area than just light that falls directly on a flat surface”. More »


Science

Inventor Of Photosynthesis-Based Solar Cells Wins Millennium Tech Prize

6:20AM June 11, 2010 | By Popular Scientist

A Switzerland-based chemist who invented solar cells that mimic photosynthesis is the winner of a million-dollar technology prize announced Wednesday. Michael Gratzel invented low-cost solar cells that can be turned into electricity-generating windows, mobile solar panels and other devices. More »


Mobile

Apple Targets Solar-Powered iPhones

2:11AM June 4, 2010 | Brian Barrett

Apple’s got more than one patent devoted to solar powered devices, and today we’ve got yet another. Patently Apple has dug up plans for a touch-sensitive integrated solar panel for media players. More »


Science

What Is This?

10:00AM December 24, 2009 | Jesus Diaz

When I first saw this abstract image, I thought I was looking at some weird crystals, or maybe some snowflakes under the microscope using polarised light. The answer was much more amazingerest and surprising than that. More »


Science

Sharp Triple Layer Solar Cell Sets New Efficiency Record

7:17AM October 24, 2009 | Chris Jacob

The gauntlet has been thrown down yet again in the solar cell efficiency arms race. This time Sharp comes up with a cell that can harvest 35.8 per cent of available sunlight. More »