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Questions tagged [solar-cells]

250 questions
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Solar panels that also work at night?

This was first proposed in a scientific study from 2019. Essentially, the idea is that the solar cell generates power from the heat it radiates at night. That study claimed a theoretical maximum efficiency of 4 watts/m2. A study released a few…
Pitto
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Indirect Bandgap Semiconductors vs Direct Bandgap Semiconductors

I have been looking into the foundational theory of solar cells, as a high school student. Due to this, a lot of the stereochemical and physical understanding I would need to specialise here completely eludes me. One particular doubt is that…
User
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Solar panel maximum efficiency at specific frequency and temperature?

I talked to a professor about solar panels and their efficiency. It seemed that the main reason solar panels aren't that efficient is because it can only accept a single energy input size. Anything below is ignored and anything above only gives the…
Filip Haglund
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Does a UV flashlight work to excite a solar panel to generate current in the same way natural sunlight would?

So I wanted to show some young kids solar panels. In the sunlight they work great, but obviously inside they won't work. I wanted to ask if I bought an UV flashlight from amazon like here would this make the solar panel work? If not, could someone…
Vogtster
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A way to increase photovoltaic cell efficiency with fiber optics?

A way to increase photovoltaic efficiency using fiber optics? One of the claimed inhibitors of efficiency was the band gap of materials which contrasts to that of a photon. My idea is a way to possibly mitigate this loss by increasing the frequency…
Stevan White
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1 answer

Is the Photovoltaic Effect observed only in P-N junctions?

So far, all the sources I've found explain the photovoltaic effect in relation to p-n junctions when talking about solar cells (since that's what they're made out of), but I was wondering if one could explain the photovoltaic effect in general…
1234567
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Solar Distillation

I have a rather large project on the northern beaches of Tanzania and am looking for the optimum off grid method to distill water. We have a salty well. I have seen many many diagrams on the web on the subject with some of them being very close to…
aussiemike
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What happens to solar cells in water (or in anything other than air)?

Suppose there is a solar cell with light of a single wavelength shining on it (through air) and that this wavelength is optimal for the cell, meaning that it is converted to electricity with the highest efficiency. What would happen if that cell was…
Eric Czech
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Incident Photon to Converted Electron vs. UV-VIS absorbance

We can define the Incident Photon to Converted Electron (IPCE) for a solar cell as the ratio of photons that strike the solar cell to the number of electrons that flow out of the cell. Hence, we can express it as (Absorptance as a function of…
UserPhysics
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Photovoltaic ‘Rectenna’ is it possible?

Video: https://youtu.be/BKyksxC_nxY A copper wire with N and P type Silicon on it wrapped around a fiber optic thread or glass rod with light entering on end and bouncing around inside and exiting the other end of the glass fiber or rod. Will the…
Stevan White
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This spinning solar cell advertises a 20x efficiency improvement. How?

Video: These Spinning Solar Cells Generate 20 Times More Power Than Traditional Panels. I am sceptical because commercial panels have an efficiency of 15-20% and research panels are even better: How accurate is this advert's claim?
spraff
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Feasibility of silicon heterojunction solar cells in utility scale

I came across with the article on a russian website, saying they are planning to start production of solar cells using advanced semiconductor technology called "quantum heterostructure" (maybe in other words heterojunction?), allowing to increase…
stardust
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What is considered 100% efficiency when talking about photovoltaic cells?

I was reading this article in Popular Science and figured that I actually don't know what is considered 100% efficiency. Is it when every photon that hits the cell kicks out an electron that is excited enough to become free? Not every photon in the…
Passiday
  • 207