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Solar panels made of human hair
A new type of solar panel using human hair could provide the world with cheap, clean electricity, says a teenage inventor.
Milan Karki, who is only 18 years old and hails from rural Nepal, believes he has found a solution to the world’s growing energy needs.
The young inventor says hair could easily serve as current conductors in solar panels and could revolutionise renewable energy.
“First I wanted to provide electricity to my house, then to my village. Now I’m thinking about energy for the world, says a young man who attends a school in the capital, Kathmandu.
“Hair replaces silicon, an expensive component that is commonly used in solar panels, meaning that panels can be manufactured at a low cost for those without access to electricity,” explains Milan.
In Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, many rural areas lack access to electricity. And even in areas connected to the grid, electricity may not be available up to 16 hours a day.
Milan and four of his classmates originally made the solar panel as an experiment, but the teenagers are convinced that their product could have widespread application and commercial feasibility.
“I am trying to set up commercial production and distribute the products to nearby areas. We have already sent a few to check the profitability, says the guy. The cost of building a solar panel that produces 18 watts of power is just $38.
"But if we had mass production," says Milan, "we could sell them for less than half that price." And that could be as little as a quarter of the cost of the panel that is currently on the market.””
Melanin, the pigment that gives hair color, is sensitive to light and can also act as a conductor. Because hair is much cheaper than silicon, the final product is less expensive.
A solar panel can charge a mobile phone or a couple of batteries that can provide light for an entire evening.
Milan began his search for a source of electricity when he was a young boy and lived in Khotan, a remote area of Nepal with no electricity. According to him, the residents were very skeptical about his invention. “They believe in superstition, they don’t believe in science. But now they believed me, he says.
At first, the guy tried to use a small water generator set, but abandoned the experiments, saying they were unreasonably expensive.
I was looking for new, other renewable energy sources. Milan was inspired by a book by physicist Stephen Hawking, which discussed how to create static energy from hair.
And I realized that melanin could be a factor in energy conversion. Half a kilo of hair can be bought for as little as 16 rupees in Nepal and used for several months, while a set of batteries will cost 50 rupees and last for several nights.
“Humans can easily replace hair themselves,” explains Milan, which means its solar panels need little maintenance.
“Slowly, natural resources are degrading, so we need to think about the future,” he said.
Source: facepla.net
Milan Karki, who is only 18 years old and hails from rural Nepal, believes he has found a solution to the world’s growing energy needs.
The young inventor says hair could easily serve as current conductors in solar panels and could revolutionise renewable energy.
“First I wanted to provide electricity to my house, then to my village. Now I’m thinking about energy for the world, says a young man who attends a school in the capital, Kathmandu.
“Hair replaces silicon, an expensive component that is commonly used in solar panels, meaning that panels can be manufactured at a low cost for those without access to electricity,” explains Milan.
In Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, many rural areas lack access to electricity. And even in areas connected to the grid, electricity may not be available up to 16 hours a day.
Milan and four of his classmates originally made the solar panel as an experiment, but the teenagers are convinced that their product could have widespread application and commercial feasibility.
“I am trying to set up commercial production and distribute the products to nearby areas. We have already sent a few to check the profitability, says the guy. The cost of building a solar panel that produces 18 watts of power is just $38.
"But if we had mass production," says Milan, "we could sell them for less than half that price." And that could be as little as a quarter of the cost of the panel that is currently on the market.””
Melanin, the pigment that gives hair color, is sensitive to light and can also act as a conductor. Because hair is much cheaper than silicon, the final product is less expensive.
A solar panel can charge a mobile phone or a couple of batteries that can provide light for an entire evening.
Milan began his search for a source of electricity when he was a young boy and lived in Khotan, a remote area of Nepal with no electricity. According to him, the residents were very skeptical about his invention. “They believe in superstition, they don’t believe in science. But now they believed me, he says.
At first, the guy tried to use a small water generator set, but abandoned the experiments, saying they were unreasonably expensive.
I was looking for new, other renewable energy sources. Milan was inspired by a book by physicist Stephen Hawking, which discussed how to create static energy from hair.
And I realized that melanin could be a factor in energy conversion. Half a kilo of hair can be bought for as little as 16 rupees in Nepal and used for several months, while a set of batteries will cost 50 rupees and last for several nights.
“Humans can easily replace hair themselves,” explains Milan, which means its solar panels need little maintenance.
“Slowly, natural resources are degrading, so we need to think about the future,” he said.
Source: facepla.net
