Oregon boy, 12, invents solar cell to help solve country's energy crisis . . .

[OneBlueSky]

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/28433409.html

BEAVERTON, Ore. – A new invention could revolutionize solar energy – and it was made by a 12-year-old in Beaverton.

Despite his age, William Yuan has already studied nuclear fusion and nanotechnology, and he is on his way to solving the energy crisis.

It all started with Legos - after he learned nanotechnology to make robots take off. The seventh grader then got an idea inspired by the sun.

"Solar it seems underused, and there are only a few problems with it," Yuan said.

Encouraged by his Meadow Park Middle School science teacher, the 12-year-old developed a 3D solar cell.

"Regular solar cells are only 2D and only allow light interaction once," he said.

And his cell can absorb both visible and UV light.

"I started to realize I was actually onto something," Yuan said.

- more . . .

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/28433409.html

[panader0]

1. Very cool!

[comtec]

2. I have always marveled why this was not done sooner

He's right the energy is wasted, I always figured this was discovered but suppressed as it's such a common sense thing to do.
good on him for getting press on it :)

[DangerousRhythm]

3. Wow, awesome!

Thanks for posting this!

[myrna minx]

4. Amazing. K&R n/t

[chill_wind]

5. K & R

[The Croquist]

6. His cell produces 10% more energy

10% is a significant improvement and good for him but I don't understand this sentence

If he is right, solar panels with his 3D cells would yield nine times more sunlight and absorb 10 percent more energy from the sun - even when it's cloudy.

How do solar cells yield nine times more sunlight?

The big issue with solar is efficiency compared to cost. If this doesn't increase the cost too much it could really help. I wonder what the weight difference is. NASA would love another 10%.

[file83]

11. I don't think the writer of that story understood the facts.

The only thing I can think of is that the 3D cell only aborbs 10% more sunlight, but generates 9 times more energy from the same amount of sunlight than a 2-D cell would?

I don't know. What isn't mentioned of course, is that there are already some new 2-D flexible low cost solar cells being made that seem to pretty well:
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/nanosolar-creates-largest-thin-film-tool-1023.html

Good on this kid though, he may be on to something.

[bobbert]

7. 10% more energey at probably 200% the cost...

It's a good idea, but the reason we use 2D is because we have materials that are very efficient at collecting as much light as possible, doubling the amount of material to get a few percent boost is really inefficient, we're better off taking that material and putting it next to the other 2D slab. It's good for him to be thinking like this, theoretically it's a great idea, but it has to come a long way before it's ready.

[ElectricGrid]

8. Yeah that article didn't share enough information

to know if it is a real breakthrough or not. I doubt it is.

[kristopher]

12. It is premature to make those presumptions.

I get the impression is internally reflecting the light around so that it has more opportunity to hit the crystals. That doesn't necessarily require more crystals, in fact, if it is doing that it would be better to identify it as a form of concentrating the energy.

[ehrnst]

9. My question: Why a 12 year old in a science project, not a researcher?

Is there no motivation whatsoever for our gov't, universities, or private industry to do what this middle school science teacher?

This should be one our priorities - getting off fossil fuels as soon as possible.

[applegrove]

10. Out of the "minds" of babes!

[rcsl1998]

13. K&R

[Dead_Parrot]

14. Err... what?

OK, Kudos to the kid if he came up with the idea on his own, but did nobody at the paper think to check if anyone else was working on 3d solar panels?

Teh Google: link:Results 1 - 10 of about 23,600 for 3d "solar cell" nanotechnology

For those ready to move beyond lego, here's an interesting paper on the preparation and testing of a TiO₂-ZrO₂ cell that catches UV using nanoscale structures.

[progressoid]

15. Looks like he may be plagiarizing a little something there.

As a someone pointed out, his design is VERY similar to that of Dr Jud Ready.

Looks like he even used the same grapics. Check out the graphic behind him:



It's the same graphic in this animation from Ga Tech where Dr. Ready works:

http://www-stage.gatech.edu/news-room/flash/CNTpv.html

Here's Ready's story:

http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?id=1337

[Dead_Parrot]

16. Hmmm

The caption in that photo does say "Current 3D solar cells", so he may have credited Ready somewhere - you're right, they are his graphics.

It would follow he's come up with something else, but the reporting is so crap ("yield nine times more sunlight"? seriously, WTF?) we've got no chance of finding out.

[BrklynLiberal]

18. Sure looks like the exact same pictures...

[kristopher]

20. It reads like he has built a prototype.

""This solar cell can't be generating this much electricity, it can't be absorbing this much extra light," he recalled thinking..."


Do you think he used carbon nanotubes like Ready describes, or has he simplified it dramatically?

[BrklynLiberal]

17. The next Bill Gates/Steve Jobs

[kestrel91316]

19. Holy Ecotopia, Batman!!!