The researchers found a way
to make an “optical battery,” said Stephen Rand, a professor in the
departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Physics and
Applied Physics.
In the process, they overturned a century-old tenet of physics.
“You could stare at the equations of motion all day and you will not see
this possibility. We’ve all been taught that this doesn’t happen,” said
Rand, an author of a paper on the work published in the Journal of
Applied Physics. “It’s a very odd interaction. That’s why it’s been
overlooked for more than 100 years.”
Light has electric and magnetic components. Until now, scientists
thought the effects of the magnetic field were so weak that they could
be ignored. What Rand and his colleagues found is that at the right
intensity, when light is traveling through a material that does not
conduct electricity, the light field can generate magnetic effects that
are 100 million times stronger than previously expected. Under these
circumstances, the magnetic effects develop strength equivalent to a
strong electric effect.
“This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and
without absorption to produce charge separation,” Rand said. “In solar
cells, the light goes into a material, gets absorbed and creates heat.
Here, we expect to have a very low heat load. Instead of the light being
absorbed, energy is stored in the magnetic moment. Intense
magnetization can be induced by intense light and then it is ultimately
capable of providing a capacitive power source.”
What makes this possible is a previously undetected brand of “optical
rectification,” says William Fisher, a doctoral student in applied
physics. In traditional optical rectification, light’s electric field
causes a charge separation, or a pulling apart of the positive and
negative charges in a material. This sets up a voltage, similar to that
in a battery. This electric effect had previously been detected only in
crystalline materials that possessed a certain symmetry.
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2011-04-solar-power-cells-hidden-magnetic.html#jCp
April 14, 2011
(PhysOrg.com) -- A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light
discovered by University of Michigan researchers could lead to solar
power without traditional semiconductor-based solar cells.
Ads by Google
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Assured.Australian Solar Panel Pro - www.eurosolar.com.au/
The researchers found a way to make an “optical battery,” said Stephen
Rand, a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics.
In the process, they overturned a century-old tenet of physics.
“You could stare at the equations of motion all day and you will not see
this possibility. We’ve all been taught that this doesn’t happen,” said
Rand, an author of a paper on the work published in the Journal of
Applied Physics. “It’s a very odd interaction. That’s why it’s been
overlooked for more than 100 years.”
Light has electric and magnetic components. Until now, scientists
thought the effects of the magnetic field were so weak that they could
be ignored. What Rand and his colleagues found is that at the right
intensity, when light is traveling through a material that does not
conduct electricity, the light field can generate magnetic effects that
are 100 million times stronger than previously expected. Under these
circumstances, the magnetic effects develop strength equivalent to a
strong electric effect.
“This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and
without absorption to produce charge separation,” Rand said. “In solar
cells, the light goes into a material, gets absorbed and creates heat.
Here, we expect to have a very low heat load. Instead of the light being
absorbed, energy is stored in the magnetic moment. Intense
magnetization can be induced by intense light and then it is ultimately
capable of providing a capacitive power source.”
What makes this possible is a previously undetected brand of “optical
rectification,” says William Fisher, a doctoral student in applied
physics. In traditional optical rectification, light’s electric field
causes a charge separation, or a pulling apart of the positive and
negative charges in a material. This sets up a voltage, similar to that
in a battery. This electric effect had previously been detected only in
crystalline materials that possessed a certain symmetry.
Ads by Google
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Own Magnets In Minutes - www.Vistaprint.com.au
Rand and Fisher found that under the right circumstances and in other
types of materials, the light’s magnetic field can also create optical
rectification.
“It turns out that the magnetic field starts curving the electrons into a
C-shape and they move forward a little each time,” Fisher said. “That
C-shape of charge motion generates both an electric dipole and a
magnetic dipole. If we can set up many of these in a row in a long
fiber, we can make a huge voltage and by extracting that voltage, we can
use it as a power source.”
The light must be shone through a material that does not conduct
electricity, such as glass. And it must be focused to an intensity of 10
million watts per square centimeter. Sunlight isn’t this intense on its
own, but new materials are being sought that would work at lower
intensities, Fisher said.
“In our most recent paper, we show that incoherent light like sunlight
is theoretically almost as effective in producing charge separation as
laser light is,” Fisher said.
This new technique could make solar power cheaper, the researchers say.
They predict that with improved materials they could achieve 10 percent
efficiency in converting solar power to useable energy. That’s
equivalent to today’s commercial-grade solar cells.
“To manufacture modern solar cells, you have to do extensive
semiconductor processing,” Fisher said. “All we would need are lenses to
focus the light and a fiber to guide it. Glass works for both. It’s
already made in bulk, and it doesn’t require as much processing.
Transparent ceramics might be even better.”
In experiments this summer, the researchers will work on harnessing this
power with laser light, and then with sunlight.
The paper is titled “Optically-induced charge separation and terahertz
emission in unbiased dielectrics.” The university is pursuing patent
protection for the intellectual property.
Provided by University of Michigan
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2011-04-solar-power-cells-hidden-magnetic.html#jCp
April 14, 2011
(PhysOrg.com) -- A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light
discovered by University of Michigan researchers could lead to solar
power without traditional semiconductor-based solar cells.
Ads by Google
1.5KW,3KW and 5KW Panels - Cheapest Price And Highest Quality
Assured.Australian Solar Panel Pro - www.eurosolar.com.au/
The researchers found a way to make an “optical battery,” said Stephen
Rand, a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics.
In the process, they overturned a century-old tenet of physics.
“You could stare at the equations of motion all day and you will not see
this possibility. We’ve all been taught that this doesn’t happen,” said
Rand, an author of a paper on the work published in the Journal of
Applied Physics. “It’s a very odd interaction. That’s why it’s been
overlooked for more than 100 years.”
Light has electric and magnetic components. Until now, scientists
thought the effects of the magnetic field were so weak that they could
be ignored. What Rand and his colleagues found is that at the right
intensity, when light is traveling through a material that does not
conduct electricity, the light field can generate magnetic effects that
are 100 million times stronger than previously expected. Under these
circumstances, the magnetic effects develop strength equivalent to a
strong electric effect.
“This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and
without absorption to produce charge separation,” Rand said. “In solar
cells, the light goes into a material, gets absorbed and creates heat.
Here, we expect to have a very low heat load. Instead of the light being
absorbed, energy is stored in the magnetic moment. Intense
magnetization can be induced by intense light and then it is ultimately
capable of providing a capacitive power source.”
What makes this possible is a previously undetected brand of “optical
rectification,” says William Fisher, a doctoral student in applied
physics. In traditional optical rectification, light’s electric field
causes a charge separation, or a pulling apart of the positive and
negative charges in a material. This sets up a voltage, similar to that
in a battery. This electric effect had previously been detected only in
crystalline materials that possessed a certain symmetry.
Ads by Google
Make Your Own Magnets - Custom Magnet For All of Your Needs Make Your
Own Magnets In Minutes - www.Vistaprint.com.au
Rand and Fisher found that under the right circumstances and in other
types of materials, the light’s magnetic field can also create optical
rectification.
“It turns out that the magnetic field starts curving the electrons into a
C-shape and they move forward a little each time,” Fisher said. “That
C-shape of charge motion generates both an electric dipole and a
magnetic dipole. If we can set up many of these in a row in a long
fiber, we can make a huge voltage and by extracting that voltage, we can
use it as a power source.”
The light must be shone through a material that does not conduct
electricity, such as glass. And it must be focused to an intensity of 10
million watts per square centimeter. Sunlight isn’t this intense on its
own, but new materials are being sought that would work at lower
intensities, Fisher said.
“In our most recent paper, we show that incoherent light like sunlight
is theoretically almost as effective in producing charge separation as
laser light is,” Fisher said.
This new technique could make solar power cheaper, the researchers say.
They predict that with improved materials they could achieve 10 percent
efficiency in converting solar power to useable energy. That’s
equivalent to today’s commercial-grade solar cells.
“To manufacture modern solar cells, you have to do extensive
semiconductor processing,” Fisher said. “All we would need are lenses to
focus the light and a fiber to guide it. Glass works for both. It’s
already made in bulk, and it doesn’t require as much processing.
Transparent ceramics might be even better.”
In experiments this summer, the researchers will work on harnessing this
power with laser light, and then with sunlight.
The paper is titled “Optically-induced charge separation and terahertz
emission in unbiased dielectrics.” The university is pursuing patent
protection for the intellectual property.
Provided by University of Michigan
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2011-04-solar-power-cells-hidden-magnetic.html#jCp
April 14, 2011
(PhysOrg.com) -- A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light
discovered by University of Michigan researchers could lead to solar
power without traditional semiconductor-based solar cells.
Ads by Google
1.5KW,3KW and 5KW Panels - Cheapest Price And Highest Quality
Assured.Australian Solar Panel Pro - www.eurosolar.com.au/
The researchers found a way to make an “optical battery,” said Stephen
Rand, a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics.
In the process, they overturned a century-old tenet of physics.
“You could stare at the equations of motion all day and you will not see
this possibility. We’ve all been taught that this doesn’t happen,” said
Rand, an author of a paper on the work published in the Journal of
Applied Physics. “It’s a very odd interaction. That’s why it’s been
overlooked for more than 100 years.”
Light has electric and magnetic components. Until now, scientists
thought the effects of the magnetic field were so weak that they could
be ignored. What Rand and his colleagues found is that at the right
intensity, when light is traveling through a material that does not
conduct electricity, the light field can generate magnetic effects that
are 100 million times stronger than previously expected. Under these
circumstances, the magnetic effects develop strength equivalent to a
strong electric effect.
“This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and
without absorption to produce charge separation,” Rand said. “In solar
cells, the light goes into a material, gets absorbed and creates heat.
Here, we expect to have a very low heat load. Instead of the light being
absorbed, energy is stored in the magnetic moment. Intense
magnetization can be induced by intense light and then it is ultimately
capable of providing a capacitive power source.”
What makes this possible is a previously undetected brand of “optical
rectification,” says William Fisher, a doctoral student in applied
physics. In traditional optical rectification, light’s electric field
causes a charge separation, or a pulling apart of the positive and
negative charges in a material. This sets up a voltage, similar to that
in a battery. This electric effect had previously been detected only in
crystalline materials that possessed a certain symmetry.
Ads by Google
Make Your Own Magnets - Custom Magnet For All of Your Needs Make Your
Own Magnets In Minutes - www.Vistaprint.com.au
Rand and Fisher found that under the right circumstances and in other
types of materials, the light’s magnetic field can also create optical
rectification.
“It turns out that the magnetic field starts curving the electrons into a
C-shape and they move forward a little each time,” Fisher said. “That
C-shape of charge motion generates both an electric dipole and a
magnetic dipole. If we can set up many of these in a row in a long
fiber, we can make a huge voltage and by extracting that voltage, we can
use it as a power source.”
The light must be shone through a material that does not conduct
electricity, such as glass. And it must be focused to an intensity of 10
million watts per square centimeter. Sunlight isn’t this intense on its
own, but new materials are being sought that would work at lower
intensities, Fisher said.
“In our most recent paper, we show that incoherent light like sunlight
is theoretically almost as effective in producing charge separation as
laser light is,” Fisher said.
This new technique could make solar power cheaper, the researchers say.
They predict that with improved materials they could achieve 10 percent
efficiency in converting solar power to useable energy. That’s
equivalent to today’s commercial-grade solar cells.
“To manufacture modern solar cells, you have to do extensive
semiconductor processing,” Fisher said. “All we would need are lenses to
focus the light and a fiber to guide it. Glass works for both. It’s
already made in bulk, and it doesn’t require as much processing.
Transparent ceramics might be even better.”
In experiments this summer, the researchers will work on harnessing this
power with laser light, and then with sunlight.
The paper is titled “Optically-induced charge separation and terahertz
emission in unbiased dielectrics.” The university is pursuing patent
protection for the intellectual property.
Provided by University of Michigan
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2011-04-solar-power-cells-hidden-magnetic.html#jCp
April 14, 2011
(PhysOrg.com) -- A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light
discovered by University of Michigan researchers could lead to solar
power without traditional semiconductor-based solar cells.
Ads by Google
1.5KW,3KW and 5KW Panels - Cheapest Price And Highest Quality
Assured.Australian Solar Panel Pro - www.eurosolar.com.au/
The researchers found a way to make an “optical battery,” said Stephen
Rand, a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics.
In the process, they overturned a century-old tenet of physics.
“You could stare at the equations of motion all day and you will not see
this possibility. We’ve all been taught that this doesn’t happen,” said
Rand, an author of a paper on the work published in the Journal of
Applied Physics. “It’s a very odd interaction. That’s why it’s been
overlooked for more than 100 years.”
Light has electric and magnetic components. Until now, scientists
thought the effects of the magnetic field were so weak that they could
be ignored. What Rand and his colleagues found is that at the right
intensity, when light is traveling through a material that does not
conduct electricity, the light field can generate magnetic effects that
are 100 million times stronger than previously expected. Under these
circumstances, the magnetic effects develop strength equivalent to a
strong electric effect.
“This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and
without absorption to produce charge separation,” Rand said. “In solar
cells, the light goes into a material, gets absorbed and creates heat.
Here, we expect to have a very low heat load. Instead of the light being
absorbed, energy is stored in the magnetic moment. Intense
magnetization can be induced by intense light and then it is ultimately
capable of providing a capacitive power source.”
What makes this possible is a previously undetected brand of “optical
rectification,” says William Fisher, a doctoral student in applied
physics. In traditional optical rectification, light’s electric field
causes a charge separation, or a pulling apart of the positive and
negative charges in a material. This sets up a voltage, similar to that
in a battery. This electric effect had previously been detected only in
crystalline materials that possessed a certain symmetry.
Ads by Google
Make Your Own Magnets - Custom Magnet For All of Your Needs Make Your
Own Magnets In Minutes - www.Vistaprint.com.au
Rand and Fisher found that under the right circumstances and in other
types of materials, the light’s magnetic field can also create optical
rectification.
“It turns out that the magnetic field starts curving the electrons into a
C-shape and they move forward a little each time,” Fisher said. “That
C-shape of charge motion generates both an electric dipole and a
magnetic dipole. If we can set up many of these in a row in a long
fiber, we can make a huge voltage and by extracting that voltage, we can
use it as a power source.”
The light must be shone through a material that does not conduct
electricity, such as glass. And it must be focused to an intensity of 10
million watts per square centimeter. Sunlight isn’t this intense on its
own, but new materials are being sought that would work at lower
intensities, Fisher said.
“In our most recent paper, we show that incoherent light like sunlight
is theoretically almost as effective in producing charge separation as
laser light is,” Fisher said.
This new technique could make solar power cheaper, the researchers say.
They predict that with improved materials they could achieve 10 percent
efficiency in converting solar power to useable energy. That’s
equivalent to today’s commercial-grade solar cells.
“To manufacture modern solar cells, you have to do extensive
semiconductor processing,” Fisher said. “All we would need are lenses to
focus the light and a fiber to guide it. Glass works for both. It’s
already made in bulk, and it doesn’t require as much processing.
Transparent ceramics might be even better.”
In experiments this summer, the researchers will work on harnessing this
power with laser light, and then with sunlight.
The paper is titled “Optically-induced charge separation and terahertz
emission in unbiased dielectrics.” The university is pursuing patent
protection for the intellectual property.
Provided by University of Michigan
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2011-04-solar-power-cells-hidden-magnetic.html#jCp
Built to withstand ANYTHING? That's absurd.
They're not designed to withstand various terrorist attack scenarios.
The steel and/or concrete of which they are built will eventually
corrode and crumble away. Brand new casks
