Invisibility cloak makes solar panels work more efficiently

[rangerrebew]

7 July 2017
Invisibility cloak makes solar panels work more efficiently
 

By Shannon Hall

An invisibility cloak has been used in the lab to hide the metallic strips used in solar panels, making the devices more efficient at using the sun’s energy.

Invisibility cloaks are made of materials that can bend the path of light around them and so hide anything under them from view. Martin Schumann at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany and his colleagues have used one to create a prototype solar panel with a cloak over the metallic contact fingers throughout the panel that extract the generated current.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2140108-invisibility-cloak-makes-solar-panels-work-more-efficiently/

[Joe Wooten]

It still will not allow the PV panels to make electricity when the sun does not shine........

[Cripplecreek]

It still will not allow the PV panels to make electricity when the sun does not shine........

Solar is fine for space out to about the orbit of mars. Efficiency and night have always been the primary problems with Solar.

[Joe Wooten]

Solar is fine for space out to about the orbit of mars. Efficiency and night have always been the primary problems with Solar.

Don't forget the fact that they lose about 1% in efficiency every year due to UV degradation.