Cheap Solar Panels Use Hair as a Conductor
The Daily Mail reports that Milan Karki, an 18 year old Nepalese student has developed a new kind of solar panel which uses human hair instead of silicon as a conductor.
Melanin, the pigment that colors hair, is light-sensitive, and can act as a conductor of electricity. With hair being far cheaper than silicon, the cost of Karki’s panels is extremely low – about £23.
These home-made solar panels are capable of producing 9 V of electricity – enough juice to charge a mobile phone, or a battery powered light.
[Daily Mail via Switched]
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| TOPICS: | Design & Architecture, Electronics & Gadgets, Environmental / Green, Science |
| TAGS: | Asia, hair, Milan Karki, silicon, solar panels, solar power |
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