Carbon Nanotube Towers Could Increase Solar Power

Vict0r writes "Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute have recently demonstrated a way to grow carbon nanotubes in towers. The article also discusses applications for solar cells." From the article: "Reflections off the Gothamesque towers would provide more opportunity for each photon of sunlight to interact with the p/n junction of the cell. That would increase the power output from PV cells of a given size, or allow cells to be made smaller while producing the same amount of power."

Comments

Re:Even better

[Issue9mm]

Because, as is the point, the solar panels ABSORB the light, not reflect it back. I don't have any hard numbers, but as PV cells are designed specifically to absorb sunlight, let's assume they do this pretty well. While some (let's say 20%) of a ray of sunlight is reflected back into the chamber, it would surely be caught by the next PV cell and absorbed wholly (unless, possibly, that PV cell is already working at maximum absorption, which, if is the case, negates the point of bothering to reflect in the first place.)

-9mm-

a lot of solar news lately

[grqb]

So far this week we've had quite a bit of solar news...solar power airplane to fly around the world, another breakthrough in solar power that brings the price of solar from $8/watt to about $1/watt and now this...hmmm I should get into this business it seems!

Carbon nanotubes are also all over the map these days so why not nanotubes and solar? I guess we'll have to wait a while until this becomes commercial though because I don't think carbon nanotubes can be scaled up very easily.