. Medical and Hospital News .




SOLAR DAILY
Flexible solar cells could be in clothing
by Staff Writers
University Park, Pa. (UPI) Dec 6, 2012


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

The day may come when the shirt on your back can charge your cellphone, say U.S. researchers who've helped developed flexible, foldable solar cells.

Scientists at Penn State, who worked with international colleagues, said the silicon-based optical fiber with solar-cell capabilities can be made to almost any length and paves the way for flexible, curved or twisted solar fabrics.

The team worked to overcome the challenge of merging optical fibers with silicon-based integrated circuits found in most semiconductor electronic devices such as solar cells, computers, and cellphones, a university release said Thursday.

The solution was an optical fiber thinner than a human hair, with its own integrated electronic component, bypassing the problem of having to integrate fiber-optics with flat electronic chips.

"Our goal is to extend high-performance electronic and solar-cell function to longer lengths and to more flexible forms. We already have made meters-long fibers but, in principle, our team's new method could be used to create bendable silicon solar-cell fibers of over 10 meters in length," Penn State chemistry Professor John Badding said.

"Long, fiber-based solar cells give us the potential to do something we couldn't really do before: We can take the silicon fibers and weave them together into a fabric with a wide range of applications such as power generation, battery charging, chemical sensing and biomedical devices."

Most current solar cells are expensive to produce and create a flat, inflexible device, he said.

"But woven, fiber-based solar cells would be lightweight, flexible configurations that are portable, foldable and even wearable," he said.

The military has shown great interest in wearable power sources for soldiers in the field, Badding said.

.


Related Links
All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

Get Our Free Newsletters
Space - Defense - Environment - Energy - Solar - Nuclear

...





SOLAR DAILY
German's solar ovens make sunbaked tortillas in Mexico
El Sauz, Mexico (AFP) Dec 05, 2012
Under a blazing sun in Mexico's central mountain range, a clutch of large dish-shaped solar panels suck up the light and beam the heat into a kitchen, cooking tortillas. Forget coal, gas or electric ovens. German entrepreneur Gregor Schapers designed and installed giant circular solar panels in the small town of El Sauz to show that the sun's rays can cook up a storm too. Schapers, who h ... read more


SOLAR DAILY
Desperate Philippine typhoon victims await aid

South Carolina Air National Guard's Eagle Vision IV Supports "Superstorm Sandy's" First Responders

Pakistan landslides kill three soldiers, bury rescuers

A month after superstorm Sandy, suffering lingers

SOLAR DAILY
Retired GIOVE-A satellite helps SSTL demonstrate first High Altitude GPS navigation fix

GTX Gets Approval For Custom Two-Way GPS Tracking Devices On Planes

East Riding Of Yorkshire Council Selects Ctrack For Specialist Vehicle Tracking Solution

Researchers Use GPS Tracking to Monitor Crab Behavior

SOLAR DAILY
Africa's Homo sapiens were the first techies

Skeletons in cave reveal Mediterranean secrets

World's tallest woman dies in China: authorities

Native Americans and Northern Europeans more closely related than previously thought

SOLAR DAILY
Football: Poborsky shows animal instincts in gorilla plan

Kenyan reserve to fly drones to tackle rhino poachers

Track down giant pythons for cash in Florida?

Male chimpanzees choose their allies carefully

SOLAR DAILY
Birds may spread, not halt, fever-bearing ticks

Pakistan clerics join fight against AIDS

AIDS: Chinese study raises flag over drugs-as-prevention hope

Zambia court told HIV prisoners denied drugs, proper food

SOLAR DAILY
Police clash with thousands of rioters in south China

China lambasts US over Tibet self-immolation comments

Mo Yan: Chronicler of a turbulent Chinese century

China mayor watch scandal stirs online resentment

SOLAR DAILY
Four Chinese hostages freed in Colombia

Piracy will swell again if seas not policed: S.African Navy

Mekong River attackers get death sentences

West African pirates target oil tankers

SOLAR DAILY
China's economy shows pick-up amid leadership transition

S. American growth set to cause wage hikes

Chinese inflation rises to 2.0 percent in November

Japan economic data sparks recession fears




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement