12 year old boy develops a solar cel which absorbs 500 Times!! the light of existing solar cells!!

Current solar cells are between 10 and 30 % efficient.

So how is this kid going to get 500 times the 10 percent of Maximum possible which is currently the low end in efficiency?

500 percent efficiency or 49 times more energy out than is in the sunshine?

That is roughly 50 times more energy than the sun is providing.

You need to develop some critical thinking. You cannot get 500 times more than 10% of the max possible.

[edit on 19-9-2008 by Cyberbian]

Originally posted by RogerT
Nanotech and renewable energy! 12 years old!

I am encouraged for the future of the planet.

Outside school, William plays piano, chess, and has a Poom Belt certificate (black belt for those under 15) in Taekwondo. He also enjoys traveling and skiing.

His parents must be very proud.

Heck yeah. The children truly are the future...
WOW...what was I playing with when I was 12? I wasn't making 3D solar cells out of nanotubes!

reply to post by Cyberbian


Darn you beat me to the funny math part.

I guess shooting a star your direction is a lot easier than explaining.

I do not want to take anything away from this amazing young man, but nano-structured p-type monocrystalline silicon substrated 3 dimensional solar cells are most definitely beyond the ability of a backyard chemistry set. Research has been ongoing in this field for many years; and it takes instruments of incredible precision to accomplish nano-engineered solar cells that significantly increase efficiency....

I even have a link that somewhat explains it.

Click right here

Originally posted by Terrapop
If this is true....

end of oil age and all the dirt connected to it!

Hope, Shell or BP are not visiting him and buying the tech off the market.

Maybe they're already buying his school, the companie(s) his parents work at so they can get some control! Through the usual fake firms and companies no doubt so no one would ever suspect or know.

No seriously I'm wondering how this invention will progress, will it really have an impact on the energy market or will it just fade out overtime?

[edit on 20-9-2008 by Dragonfly79]

Just how one member on that site said:

"Somehow the government will mess this up"

reply to post by Lunica


So in 65 years all the PHD's missed this This child deserves a Nobel prize..wait and see how long it takes to bury this advance so that a usable consumer device NEVER see's the light of day(pun unintended)

That is a very interesting story!
However.. 500 times more light absorption than ordinary cells, nanotech engineering, big claims, need to be verified first... how true it is. (Base on the number I'm just gonna assume that the other 3d solar cells can only absorb about 55 times more light than 2d commercial ones)

But there are a lot of negative tones (hostile even) from the original websites and other websites, why is that? Is it because it's too ridiculous or its relation to global warming debate somehow (or something else). Meaning, this story seems like a plus for the pro global warming crowd.

Personally, if the simulation is valid and viable economically, it's a win win for both camps, for the world.

Maybe he got help from dad.
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You should check out other recipients.

2008 Davidson Fellow Laureates

In his project, “Determining Carbon Nanotube Thermodynamic Solubility: The Missing Link to a Practical Supermaterial?”, Philip showed that carbon nanotubes, among the strongest and most conductive materials in the world, are thermodynamically soluble, contradicting the generally held assumption that they were universally insoluble. Using the Debye light scattering theory, Philip determined the Flory Huggins parameter to calculate solubility. To accurately detect the light scattered, he designed and custom-built a unique photon-counting spectrometer, more sensitive and precise than any commercially available. Philip’s work has broad applications in the field of nanotechnology engineering.

17 year old with such project, unbelievable, amazing.

Its nice that this kid is taking interest in energy research, but to be honest I don't see anything here. He has a claim, some figures, some things on paper and computer, and that's all..... no working stuff. (And its probably incorrect math, as others have said)

Not enough to generate a lot of excitement, but anyway .... good job.