Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have found a way to significantly boost the energy that can be harnessed from sunlight, a finding that could lead to better solar cells or light detectors.
General Physics
Nov 5, 2015
1
2611
Stanford scientists have discovered a surprising source for an organic molecule used as an indicator for life on early Earth.
Biochemistry
Oct 20, 2015
20
1466
Solar cells capture up to 40 percent more energy when they can track the sun across the sky, but conventional, motorized trackers are too heavy and bulky for pitched rooftops and vehicle surfaces.
Energy & Green Tech
Sep 8, 2015
69
738
A team led by researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has developed nanostructures made from a compound of three metals that increases the efficiency and durability of fuel cells while ...
Materials Science
Jun 15, 2015
2
1750
One of the fastest-growing areas of solar energy research is with materials called perovskites. These promising light harvesters could revolutionize the solar and electronics industries because they show potential to convert ...
Materials Science
Apr 30, 2015
3
1184
A study published last month by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory provides theoretical evidence for a new effect that may lead to a way of measuring the exact temperature at which ...
Superconductivity
Mar 13, 2015
3
960
One challenge in improving the efficiency of solar cells is that some of the absorbed light energy is lost as heat. So scientists have been looking to design materials that can convert more of that energy into useful electricity. ...
Polymers
Jan 12, 2015
11
1730
In a design that mimics a hard-to-duplicate texture of starfish shells, University of Michigan engineers have made rounded crystals that have no facets.
Nanomaterials
Oct 20, 2014
0
0
A major limitation in the performance of solar cells happens within the photovoltaic material itself: When photons strike the molecules of a solar cell, they transfer their energy, producing quasi-particles called excitons—an ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 21, 2014
2
0
(Phys.org) —The basic function of solar cells is to harvest sunlight and turn it into electricity. Thus, it is critically important that the film that collects the light on the surface of the cell is designed for the best ...
Nanomaterials
Sep 17, 2014
1
0
