Thursday, June 18, 2015
At the centre of our solar system lies great power. The Sun bathes our tiny blue world with an immense amount of solar energy... many thousands of times the world's current energy usage. Exploiting solar makes so much sense. In space, solar power has been used for a long time. Satellites have advanced photovoltaic cells based not on silicon, like our rooftop cells, but on gallium arsenide. These are more efficient but generally too expensive for use on Earth.
But that may be changing. The sky is clear, the sun's shining and today we're going to find out about a new kind of solar cell. At the moment, it's the most efficient cell in the world and it was invented right here in Australia. It brings space technology down to the surface. The story starts at the University of New South Wales......Says Dr Graham Phillips on ABC Catalyst
