5 Recent Solar Energy Breakthroughs

The idea of solar energy has been around for a long time, but it has never been efficient enough to be a real consideration. Despite this, it is obvious just how powerful the sun actually is. Children in kindergarten learn that a simple shoebox can become a hot-dog cooking machine when designed to attract sunlight, even. The sun is ultimately the source of all of our modern day energy, even if we may not realize it. We burn coal and other fossil fuels that come from ancient ferns, the energy of which was produced by photosynthesis from the same sun that burns brightly in our sky today.

Scientists have realized that all this mucking about with fossil fuels, though inexpensive compared to solar power now, is a lot of effort for energy that is being beamed down to our planet 12 hours a day everywhere. So what to do? Solar power is the answer, and now there are some new breakthroughs that make solar energy more affordable and efficient than it ever has been before.

Solar Energy

There are two main types of solar energy: active solar and passive solar. Active solar power is captured by the use of photovoltaic and thermal panels to capture the energy of the sun directly and transform it into moving electrons--i.e. electricity. The second, passive solar power uses the energy of the sun to create air currents that turn a turbine, creating electricity though the use of magnets to create a flow of electrons.

5 Recent Solar Power Breakthroughs

1. Chemists at the University of Texas in Austin say that they have discovered a way to increase the efficiency of solar panels from the 30% of today up to 60%. This doubling of solar potential could make solar energy vastly more affordable and make it a serious contender for clean energy. During the capturing of solar energy, electrons quickly lose the original power from the sun as the move as a charge. However, these chemists have discovered that by creating a special layer of lead-selenide nanocrystals, or quantum dots, coupled with an electron-conducting titanium dioxide layer, much of this lost energy can be contained. The only problem with this breakthrough is that still much of this new energy is still lost as heat due to friction within wires, but as scientists continue to search for newer and better ways to capture energy, this problem will eventually be solved.

2. Old solar panels lost much of the sunlight streaming towards them, but a new invention called the electrochemical cell could be the answer. This new type of solar panel is made with a liquid gel to allow translucence without having problems with being too rigid.

3. Another great breakthrough is changing the cathodes within a power cell from expensive and corrosive platinum to the less expensive factory produced cobalt sulphide. This change is a scientific and industry dream come true--the new cathode is more stable, more efficient, and cheaper to produce. There is literally no drawback.

4. Another great idea came from the problem of the low efficiency of solar panels. Because of how much energy is begin lost, they would need to take up a huge amount of space to be anywhere close to efficient enough for actual power consideration. One clever scientist came up with the idea of stacking solar panels so that this space could be taken up vertically and some of the lost sunlight would trickle down to the solar panel below. Another great idea for solar power!

5. Older solar panels were made using silicone as backing for the solar panels. Instead, newer panels use compounds such as the patented copper indium gallium selenium sulphide. This special compound is much cheaper than silicone to make and use and so it is another great breakthrough that has lowered the cost of solar panels for everyone.

Conclusion

Solar energy is a brilliant idea for the future of power but it has many problems. The energy produced by plants in photosynthesis is extremely inefficient--so much of the sun's energy is lost and that energy can one day be used to power our lives. As humans continue to use more and more energy each day, we have to find new sources of energy. Solar energy can be the answer, and thanks to the efforts of scientists today that answer may come sooner than later.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy; http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/solar/breakthrough-in-capturing-lost-energy-in-solar-cells; http://breakfornews.com/my/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=491; http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Solar-Energy-Breakthrough-Everyone-Missed&id=402377; http://www.gizmag.com/low-cost-efficient-solar-cells/14747/