Let The Sunshine In

In the green room... an interesting piece of sustainable innovation was introduced this week.  The New Jersey Institute of Technology unveiled a new polymer-based paint that can be applied to plastic sheets which will then function as solar panels.  Here's the shake down on how it works- when sunlight hits a solar cell, the energy will create positive and negative charges.  If separated and sent to different electrodes, it will produce a current.  If the cells can be linked electronically, they will form a "panel".    The cell developed by NJIT is 50,000 times smaller than a human hair, but conducts currents much more efficiently than electrical wires.

Though still in its beta stage, this solar paint has potential to eliminate enormous energy costs by allowing individuals to create their own power stations.  In the future, hybrid cars could be operated by solar energy created from a panel on the roof  of the vehicle.  It brings a whole new meaning to the term "sunroof".

For more information check out Fullerene single wall carbon nanotube complex for polymer bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells.  We dare you to say that one three times out loud.