From Peas to Power (Solar, That Is)



A scientist at the University of Tel Aviv (Dept. of Biochemistry) thinks that someday the same natural power system that peas use to convert sunlight into sugar could create electricity for your home.

…solar cells projected for use in solar-energy generating clothing, tents or BIPV (building integrated photovoltaic) applications.The university reportedly intends to work on the size in the near future, producing bio-based solar cells closer to one centimeter, or 0.39 inches.The actual solar cell itself is fashioned of about 200 chlorophylls (the basic substance in photosynthesis). These are layered with proteins between two exterior layers, an inorganic semiconductor (silicon, gallium or arsenide?) and a conductor (copper, for example).The basic science behind photosynthesis was formulated in 1905 by Albert Einstein, who concluded that photons delivering a charge to electrons triggered a biochemical reaction that resulted in glucose, or plant sugars….

Read the rest here:
From Peas to Power (Solar, That Is)

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 1:58 am and is filed under News. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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