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
Researchers open new 'window' on solar energy: Cost effective devices expected on market soon
Jul 10, 2008 |
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Imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building they are part of. MIT engineers report a new approach to harnessing the ...
Flexible nanoantenna arrays capture abundant solar energy
Aug 11, 2008 |
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Researchers have devised an inexpensive way to produce plastic sheets containing billions of nanoantennas that collect heat energy generated by the sun and other sources. The technology, developed at the U.S. Department of ...
Researchers Produce Best-Yet Dye-Based Solar Cells
Jul 31, 2008 |
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In work that may help solar panels become a more viable source of mainstream power, a research group has created a dye-based solar cell with a high efficiency and high stability, and that lacks the volatile chemicals used ...
Magic solar milestone reached: UNSW claims 25 percent solar cell efficiency title
Oct 23, 2008 |
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University of New South Wales ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence has reported the first silicon solar cell to achieve the milestone of 25 per cent effiency.
Breakthrough in efficiency for dye-sensitized solar cells
Jun 29, 2008 |
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In a paper published in the journal Nature Materials, EPFL professor Michael Graetzel, Shaik Zakeeruddin and colleagues from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have achieved a reco ...
Solar Roadways Awarded DOT Contract to Pave Roads with Solar Cells
Sep 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In a first step toward turning highways into energy-generating solar panels, the Sagle, Idaho-based startup Solar Roadways has recently received a $100,000 grant from the US Department of ...
Record high performance with new solar cells
Nov 03, 2008 |
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Researchers in China and Switzerland are reporting the highest efficiency ever for a promising new genre of solar cells, which many scientists think offer the best hope for making the sun a mainstay source ...
Swiss team unveil pioneering solar plane
Jun 26, 2009 |
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Round-the-world balloooning pioneer Bertrand Piccard unveiled his solar-powered aircraft in Switzerland on Friday, ready for another trend-setting circumnavigation of the globe powered solely by the sun.
A Polymer Solar Cell with Near-Perfect Internal Efficiency
Jun 17, 2009 |
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An international group of scientists has developed a polymer-based solar cell with an ability not yet seen in similar cells: almost every single photon it absorbs is converted into a pair of electric-charge carriers, and ...
5 Feasible Renewable Energy Sources
May 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- President Barack Obama has made no secret of his desire to develop a "green economy" that includes renewable energy projects meant to benefit the environment. He has said that part of the economic recovery in ...
Slicing solar power costs: New method cuts waste in making most efficient solar cells
Sep 15, 2008 |
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University of Utah engineers devised a new way to slice thin wafers of the chemical element germanium for use in the most efficient type of solar power cells. They say the new method should lower the cost ...
New wonder material, one-atom thick, has scientists abuzz
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Jul 13, 2009 |
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Imagine a carbon sheet that's only one atom thick but is stronger than diamond and conducts electricity 100 times faster than the silicon in computer chips. That's graphene, the latest wonder material coming out ...
Lower-cost solar cells to be printed like newspaper, painted on rooftops
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Aug 24, 2009 |
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Solar cells could soon be produced more cheaply using nanoparticle "inks" that allow them to be printed like newspaper or painted onto the sides of buildings or rooftops to absorb electricity-producing sunlight.
Sharp Develops Solar Cell with World's Highest Conversion Efficiency of 35.8%
Oct 22, 2009 |
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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.
Discovery of an Unexpected Boost for Solar Water-Splitting Cells
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Apr 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team from Northeastern University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology has discovered, serendipitously, that a residue of a process used to build arrays of titania ...
