Posted on 09/08/2009 12:45:17 PM PDT by Steelfish
Teenager Invents £23 Solar Panel That Could Be Solution To Developing World's Energy Needs ... Made From Human Hair
By Daily Mail Reporter 08th September 2009
A new type of solar panel using human hair could provide the world with cheap, green electricity, believes its teenage inventor.
Milan Karki, 18, who comes from a village in rural Nepal, believes he has found the solution to the developing world's energy needs. The young inventor says hair is easy to use as a conductor in solar panels and could revolutionise renewable energy.
[Pic in URL] Hair-raising: Science student Milan Karki with his innovative solar panel made with human hair while a friend holds a light bulb above his head
'First I wanted to provide electricity for my home, then my village. Now I am thinking for the whole world,' said Milan, who attends school in the capital, Kathmandu. The hair replaces silicon, a pricey component typically used in solar panels, and means the panels can be produced at a low cost for those with no access to power, he explained.
In Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, many rural areas lack access to electricity and even in areas connected to power lines, users face shortages of up to 16 hours a day. Milan and four classmates initially made the solar panel as an experiment but the teens are convinced it has wide applicability and commercial viability.
Close shave: Milan (second from right) demonstrates his solar panel in a tiny barber shop in Kathmandu
'I'm trying to produce commercially and distribute to the districts. We've already sent a couple out to the districts to test for feasibility,' he said. The solar panel, which produces 9 V (18 W) of energy, costs around £23 to make from raw materials.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
£23 is how much in dollars?
£23 is how much in dollars?
About $38.
Well, there is talk of paleolithic African teenagers diverting a stream to make this nuclear reactor work:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_nuclear_fission_reactor
From the article:
“The Oklo uranium ore deposits are the only known in which natural nuclear reactors existed. Other rich uranium ore bodies would also have had sufficient uranium to support nuclear reactions at that time, but the combination of uranium, water and physical conditions needed to support the chain reaction was unique to the Oklo ore bodies.”
I blame teenagers!
I'm screwed. Might be able to light an LED.
$30
bump for later
If I ever get outta here, that where I’m glowin’ too...
Sounds like the Obama administration's goals for America.
I've got a lot of dog hair laying around, and a market that would pay for it would be cool. If they wouldn't buy it all and I still had a bunch all the time, making solar panels out of it might not be all that bad.
It does make sense to me that hair would conduct electricity, static is simply a charge waiting to be discharged. Maybe I'm using the wrong light.
Made From Human HairI have very little to spare, so forget it.
Before you pull all your hair out, use your head and that multi-meter to see if hair conducts electricity.
Also ask yourself if everyone’s hair has the same elements in it.
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