Large, unwieldy solar panels abound atop many a business and home these days in an effort to save the world. Although worth it in the long run, the panels are costly and only capture about 20% of the usable energy that strikes them. Plus, they only work during the day. Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory are out to change that.
Enter the “nanoantennas.” 1/25 the diameter of a human hair, each individual nanoantenna can absorb about 80% of the available energy of the sun. The antennas can be made out of any number of conductive metals and are stamped onto a cheap and flexible plastic, while commercial solar panels are made of costly silicon. They work like any other antenna by picking up the infrared energy of the sun. During the day, the Earth absorbs energy from the sun and for hours after sunset, it is released as radiation and can be picked up by the antennas. This means that they even work at night!
There are still some kinks to work out though; like finding a way to store and transmit the energy. Also, the antennas produce an electromagnetic field when the right kind of energy hits it, which isn’t very good for the materials it’s made out of. But soon, rolls of flexible solar panels that are as easy to get as cheap carpet will be available. Cover your house, cover your car, and let the solar energy revolution begin!
