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Solar Panel Developed That Can Generate Electricity From Rain (sciencenewsjournal.com)
Reader Socguy writes: Scientists in China have developed a prototype solar panel with a single atom-thick layer of graphene on the surface. This layer allows the panel to generate electricity, not just from the sun but also from any rain that falls on it. This development promises to further boost the output of solar panels during times of less than optimal conditions.Also from the report, "All it takes is a mere one-atom thick graphene layer for an excessive amount of electrons to move as they wish across the surface. In situations where water is present, graphene binds its electrons with positively charged ions. Some of you may know this process to be called as the Lewis acid-base interaction."
Engineers at companies I've worked for that just shook theirbhead at new buy impractical ideas were the ones that had to find new jobs after restructuring, or were sent to positions to do grunt work without bonuses and raises. The good engineers responses were to have a discussion about options and directions for further research to make the impractical into practical. It doesn't always work out, but in general it s good for people to get excited about new ideas because sometimes it does work with further development.
You guys could always redirect the effort these negative comments take to sourcing and submitting stories to us, and voting in the firehose. Probably not as fun as complaining though