Love this one:
Let's see if 'they' let it get to market.
*Windows could generate solar energy*
Oct. 11, 2012
Courtesy of the American Chemical Society
and World Science <http://www.world-science.net> staff
*A new type of transparent solar cell is a step toward making
windows able to generate electricity while still letting people
to see outside, researchers say.
The development is reported in the American Chemical Society
research journal /ACS Nano/. It's also described in the latest
episode of the society's Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions
podcast, available free at iTunes and here
<http://www.world-science.net/othernews/www.acs.org/globalchallenges>.
The researchers, with the California NanoSystems Institute and
the University of California, Los Angeles, say there has been
intense world-wide interest in so-called polymer solar cells,
which are made from plastic-like materials. A solar cell is a
device that converts the sun's energy into electric current.
Polymer solar cells are lightweight, flexible and can be produced
in high volume cheaply, according to the scientists. Researchers
also have been interested in making them transparent, but
previous transparent designs have had many disadvantages, which
the team set out to correct.
The scientists describe a new kind of flat, polymer solar cell
that they've developed that produces energy by absorbing mainly
infrared light, not visible light, making the cells 66 percent
transparent to the eye. They made the device from a photoactive
plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current.
Another breakthrough is the transparent conductor, which
replaces the opaque metal electrode used in the past, the
researchers say, suggesting the panels could be used in windows or
portable electronics.**
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/121011_solar
*Natalia*
*
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