A spherical power-harvesting solar cell that imitates the way trees collect sunlight

[Dover]

Sphelar cells are the new 'power windows'

Developed by Kyosemi Corporation, Sphelar solar cells are one of the most intriguing solar solutions that we have seen in a while. On display at the recent PV Expo 2010 in Tokyo, these tiny spherical cells gave us a glimpse of how windows in buildings might be used to collect solar power in the not-so-distant future...cont'd

http://www.gizmag.com/sphelar-cells-are-the-new-power-windows/14633/




Sphelar:
http://www.kyosemi.co.jp/product/pro_ene_sun_e.html







A Path to the Artificial Leaf

March 30, 2010 | 1 Comment

A new recipe based on the chemistry and biology of natural leaves that could lead to working prototypes of an artificial leaf that capture solar energy and use it efficiently to change water into hydrogen fuel was reported the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society last week.

Tongxiang Fan, Ph.D. and colleagues Di Zhang, Ph.D. and Han Zhou, Ph.D. with the State Key Lab of Matrix Composites at Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China presented a design strategy to produce the long-sought artificial leaf, which could harness Mother Nature’s ability to produce energy from sunlight and water in the process called photosynthesis. Cleverly the goal isn’t building an organic chemical; rather it’s the short step of gathering out the H2 from water.

The team decided to take a closer look at the leaf, nature’s own photosynthetic system, with plans to use its structure as a blueprint for their next generation of artificial leaf systems. The structure of green leaves provides an extremely high light-harvesting efficiency. In leaf architecture are structures responsible focusing and guiding of solar energy into the light-harvesting sections of the leaf, and other functions.

Dr. Fan said, “This concept may provide a new vista for the design of artificial photosynthetic systems based on biological paradigms and build a working prototype to exploit sustainable energy resources.” Fan pointed out that using sunlight to split water into its components, hydrogen and oxygen, is one of the most promising and sustainable tactics to escape current dependence on coal, oil, and other traditional fuels...cont'd

http://newenergyandfuel.com/http:/newenergyandfuel/com/2010/03/30/a-path-to-the-artificial-leaf/




The graphic shows part of the recipe for an artificial leaf, which draws on Mother Nature’s secrets, and would use sunlight energy and water as the raw material for hydrogen production.

Image Credit: Press release – The American Chemical Society.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Mother Nature is brilliant..and those that copy her are very smart as well.

[FedUpWithIt All]

2. Nicely said and very true.

:hi: