Originally posted on sciy.org by Ron Anastasia on Wed 04 Oct 2006 06:18 PM PDT
A much more efficient solar power future?
June 3rd, 2006
In the transports and logistics world, there are few prospects as exciting as limitless free power. Thanks to Victor I. Klimov, who works as Team Leader at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, solar power generation could soon become a lot more efficient.
Imagine having solar cells as small as molecules and you get an idea of where Dr Klimov and his pals are taking the future of solar panels by taking advantage of today’s hottest nanotechnology advances.
On the one hand, you have an abundant amount of -largely untapped- solar energy which is available almost everywhere on Earth (during day time) and on the other, you have the latest nanotechnology shrinking techniques. For Dr Klimov, the fit made perfect sense.
Based
in New Mexico, the research team has achieved something which may help
shape the way we power stuff in the not-so-distant future and not just
pocket calculators. Technically speaking, for one photon of sunlight,
you get two electron’s worth of electricity. That’s a huge leap over
today’s solar panel capabilities!
By shrinking the functional element of a solar cell to a few nanometers (that’s a millionth of a millimiter), each captured photon can be made to generate two -or even more- charge carriers, which makes it twice as efficient (or more) than today’s best solar panels.
The
good news is that this hot technological prowess could, sooner than
later, be available for all sorts of applications since the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, based in Golden, Colorado, has successfully replicated Dr Klimov’s experiment.
It’s natural to assume that for anything remotely located and needing a power source to function, this discovery paves the way for very efficient solar panels which can, for instance, power all sorts of electronic signage (especially LED-based)… or even satellites!
Now, more than ever, a sunny future awaits all T&L companies who can successfully integrate such engaging technologies in their operations or offerings.
Attachment:
