Teenager Invents £23 Solar Panel That Could Be Solution To Developing World's Energy Needs ...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1212005/Teenager-invents-23-solar-panel-solution-developing-worlds-energy-needs-human-hair.html ^ | September 08, 2009

[Steelfish]

So if this is what kids from the poorest countries invent, what do American public school kids produce for $8000.00 taxpayer funded dollars per pupil per year?

[La Lydia]

The picture so rocks on several different levels.

[sr4402]

Something hokey here. Bright flourescent lamps close to hair and no sunlight in the pictures??

Looks like Static Electricity effect here.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

They laughed when I wound up my shaver!

[marktwain]

Only one problem with this story. Industrialy produced solar panels are already cheaper than his panel per peak watt.

[Zathras]

Ya, sure.
Its about Watts!
W = V x A
Nepal tries to patent static electricity.

[marvlus]

bump

[2banana]

Somehow I am thinking this is a sham...

[Blood of Tyrants]

I’ll put this in the ‘yea, right’ category.

[Nervous Tick]

Aw, this is a bunch of horse... uh, *hair*.

[fishtank]

I smell cold fusion.

[fishtank]

. or teen spirit.

[clamper1797]

Thats hair raising

[bitterohiogunclinger]

Where does one get the 9V fluorescent bulbs? /s

[heartwood]

Great! It can do the initial power-up on my perpetual motion machine, which also uses very cheap components, marbles and aluminum soda cans (found materials.) Labor accounts for the largest part of the costs, as the soldering takes time, about $17 for each set-up. Four will make a Toyota Tercel move along at 2 mph, after you lighten it by discarding the engine. I am not counting the cost of the Tercel body.

[JoeProBono]

[KarlInOhio]

Norway: so dark, so blond, so far from energy independence.

Maybe they can get in the queue to import some Chinese hair.

Seriously, the article gave no indication of how hair uses sunlight to produce electricity without having the same thing happen to everyone's heads. I'll put it on the same shelf as perpetual motion machines until I see more evidence.

[dangerdoc]

Nepal teenager discovers unknown physical property of human hair, widespread electrocution of Texas woman feared.

Next, caveman teenager discovers how to build fusion reactor out of sticks and stones, earth-wide danger feared.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

First thing I see is that the surface area of those fine little strands of hair is only a tiny, tiny fraction of the surface area of the "cell," meaning it is only collecting a tiny, tiny fraction of the solar energy falling on the "cell," even if it works.

The surface area math doesn't work, never mind the electron flow.

[Frantzie]

Looks like this kid in Katmandu just SCREWED Obama’s plans for millions of “green” jobs. We can all sit home unemplyed with clippers so we will have light and heat.