News tagged with solar cells

Satellite proposed to send solar power to Earth

(Phys.org) -- Artemis Innovation Management Solutions has been given some seed money by NASA to look deeper into a project the company first proposed last summer; namely, building a satellite that could collect ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 11, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (54) | comments 75 | with audio podcast report

Scientists report first solar cell producing more electrons in photocurrent than solar photons entering cell

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have reported the first solar cell that produces a photocurrent that has an external quantum efficiency greater than 100 percent when photoexcited ...

Physics / General Physics

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (42) | comments 47 | with audio podcast

Australian scientists report breakthrough in solar cell efficiency

(Phys.org) -- Low cost solar cells suitable for rooftop panels could reach a record-breaking 40 percent efficiency following an early stage breakthrough by a University of Sydney researcher and his German ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Apr 18, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (39) | comments 19 | with audio podcast

Scientists design solar cells that exceed the conventional light-trapping limit

(PhysOrg.com) -- The best performing solar cells are those that are thick enough to absorb light from the entire solar spectrum, while the cheapest solar cells are thin ones, since they require less, and potentially ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Jan 20, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (37) | comments 27 | with audio podcast feature

Research sparks record-breaking solar cell performances

(PhysOrg.com) -- Theoretical research by scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has led to record-breaking sunlight-to-electricity conversion ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Nov 07, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (30) | comments 35 | with audio podcast

Gemasolar solar thermal power plant supplies power for 24 hours straight

(PhysOrg.com) -- Last week, the Gemasolar power plant near Seville, Spain, became the first commercial solar thermal power plant to supply uninterrupted power for a full 24 hours, according to builders Torresol ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Jul 11, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (27) | comments 28 | with audio podcast weblog

Scientists invent long-lasting, near infrared-emitting material

Materials that emit visible light after being exposed to sunlight are commonplace and can be found in everything from emergency signage to glow-in-the-dark stickers. But until now, scientists have had little ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Nov 20, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (26) | comments 10 | with audio podcast

Discovery of a 'dark state' could increase maximum theoretical efficiency of solar cells from 31 to 44 percent

The efficiency of conventional solar cells could be significantly increased, according to new research on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion led by chemist Xiaoyang Zhu at The University of Texas at Austin.

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (23) | comments 12 | with audio podcast

Researchers crack full-spectrum solar challenge

In a paper published in Nature Photonics, U of T Engineering researchers report a new solar cell that may pave the way to inexpensive coatings that efficiently convert the sun's rays to electricity.

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Jun 26, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (24) | comments 9 | with audio podcast

Researchers prepare cheap quantum dot solar paint

(PhysOrg.com) -- It typically takes a day or two to prepare quantum dot solar cells in the conventional multifilm architecture. Now a team of researchers is reducing the preparation time of quantum dot solar ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Dec 16, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (23) | comments 15 | with audio podcast feature

Quantum dots with built-in charge boost solar cell efficiency by 50%

(PhysOrg.com) -- For the past few years, researchers have been using quantum dots to increase the light absorption and overall efficiency of solar cells. Now, researchers have taken a step further, demonstrating ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created May 13, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (21) | comments 13 | with audio podcast feature

Millions of molecules screened in search for the ideal organic solar cell material

(PhysOrg.com) -- Currently, the cost of electricity from commercial silicon solar cells is about 10 times higher than the cost of utility-scale electricity. In order to make solar cells cost-competitive with ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Sep 12, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (21) | comments 12 | with audio podcast feature

New design for a metamaterial could be far more efficient at capturing sunlight than existing solar cells

Metamaterials are a new class of artificial substances with properties unlike anything found in the natural world. Some have been designed to act as invisibility cloaks; others as superlenses, antenna systems ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Mar 09, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (20) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Cheap, abundant cathode material found for producing hydrogen fuel (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- By replacing catalysts made of expensive noble metals like platinum with cheaper, earth-abundant materials, researchers have taken a step toward enabling the large-scale production of hydrogen ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created May 10, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (22) | comments 60 | with audio podcast feature

Inkjet printing could change the face of solar energy industry

Inkjet printers, a low-cost technology that in recent decades has revolutionized home and small office printing, may soon offer similar benefits for the future of solar energy.

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jun 28, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (21) | comments 12 | with audio podcast

Solar cell

A 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).

For more information about Solar cell, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.