Solar cell
hideA solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Sometimes the term solar cell is reserved for devices intended specifically to capture energy from sunlight, while the term photovoltaic cell is used when the light source is unspecified. Assemblies of cells are used to make solar panels, solar modules, or photovoltaic arrays. Photovoltaics is the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells in producing electricity for practical use. The energy generated this way is an example of solar energy (also called solar power).
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News tagged with solar cells
Water droplets direct self-assembly process in thin-film materials
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 23, 2009 |
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You can think of it as origami - very high-tech origami. Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a technique for fabricating three-dimensional, single-crystalline silicon structures from thin films by coupling ...
Measuring Electron Orbitals
Nov 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, it has been possible to measure electron density in individual molecular states using what is known as the photoelectric effect. Now published in Science, this method repres ...
The Future in Two Words: Ionic Liquids
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Ionic liquids are molecular solutions that have a wide range of potential applications, including next-generation solar cells, hydrogen fuel cells and lithium batteries.
Argonne 'homegrown' hybrid solar cell aims for low-cost power
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (12) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have refined a technique to manufacture solar cells by creating tubes of semiconducting material and then "growing" ...
Commercialization of new solar technology to boost solar efficiency
Nov 09, 2009 |
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A pioneer in solar power in the 1990s before it became "sexy," University of Houston Professor Alex Freundlich recently entered into a collaborative research agreement with U.K.-based start-up QuantaSol for the development ...
Solar Cells with LEDs Provide Inexpensive Lighting
Nov 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Of the 1.5 billion people in developing countries who do not have electricity, many rely on kerosene lamps for light after the sun goes down. But now, researchers from Denmark have designed ...
3-D system based on optical fiber could provide new options for photovoltaics
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 02, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (10) |
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Converting sunlight to electricity might no longer mean large panels of photovoltaic cells atop flat surfaces like roofs.
Porphyrin Dimers Increase Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Oct 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Porphyrins are most commonly thought of as the pigment in red blood cells, but now scientists have found that porphyrins can also be used to increase the efficiency of an inexpensive type ...
Xerox Develops Silver Ink for Cheap Printable Electronics
Oct 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Xerox has developed an ink which can be used to print circuits onto plastics, films, and textiles. Although circuits printed on flexible materials aren't new, Xerox's method may be cheap and ...
Toyota to release solar charger for electric vehicles
Oct 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Toyota is developing a solar charging station for electric cars and plug-in hybrids, making a green technology even greener. It has also designed a battery charger for mounting inside an electric ...
Sharp Develops Solar Cell with World's Highest Conversion Efficiency of 35.8%
Oct 22, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (26) |
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Sharp Corporation has achieved the world's highest solar cell conversion efficiency (for non-concentrator solar cells) of 35.8% using a triple-junction compound solar cell.
INL, ISU team on nanoparticle production breakthrough
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 19, 2009 |
5 / 5 (14) |
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Every hour, the sun floods Earth with more energy than the entire world consumes in a year. Yet solar power accounts for less than 0.002 percent of all electricity generated in the United States, primarily ...
Carbon nanotubes may cheaply harvest sunlight
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 19, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new alternative energy technology relies on the element most associated with climate change: carbon.
Major advance in organic solar cells
Oct 19, 2009 |
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Professor Guillermo Bazan and a team of postgraduate researchers at UC Santa Barbara's Center for Polymers and Organic Solids (CPOS) today announced a major advance in the synthesis of organic polymers for plastic solar cells. ...
More efficient solar power with space technology
Oct 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new system from an Italian company uses weather satellite data to estimate the potential of solar cell power plants and monitor their performance. The approach helps to give a faster return ...
