Liquid Solar Panels?

[Ted Hoke]

What if the silicon in a solar panel was always in liquid form:
The silicon could be pumped into the light bearing area and then drawn down through a copper matrix where the electrons would be collected. The copper matrix could be a single layer of many layers. Also, The silicon could also be cooled as it being pumped throughout the system to boost efficiency.
Would the silicon be able to transport protons down through a copper matrix or would the protons be left on the surface?
Would multiple layers increase efficiency.

[russ]

How do you propose to maintain the silicon in liquid form? Normally that requires well over 1000° C

[joegovette]

I think you need to understand silicon a bit better . Not sure how you are going to keep it in liquid form at 1410 degrees C. It would also need to be doped with gallium, arsenic, or boron in order to carry a charge. Those 2 parts alone make it pretty difficult. I have been making transistors for 17 years now at AMD and Intel. Who knows what they will come up with in the future.

[inetdog]

I think you need to understand silicone a bit better .

Silicon too, since encapsulation and weather sealing is a small part of what it takes to make a panel.

[SunEagle]

What if the silicon in a solar panel was always in liquid form:
The silicon could be pumped into the light bearing area and then drawn down through a copper matrix where the electrons would be collected. The copper matrix could be a single layer of many layers. Also, The silicon could also be cooled as it being pumped throughout the system to boost efficiency.
Would the silicon be able to transport protons down through a copper matrix or would the protons be left on the surface?
Would multiple layers increase efficiency.

Electricity is created when photons strike the thin barrier between two materials. Once being silicon the other being another semiconductor. Without that layer exposed to the sunlight there would be no electrons to free up and collect.

So even if there was a way to expose a "liquid" solar cell to sunlight the materials would have to have very low melting points otherwise you will use more energy to keep it liquid then it would generate.

Interesting subject though.

[Sunking]

Me thinks someone failed math and science classes.

[Ted Hoke]

Do not discard the idea without deeper thought.

Electricity is created when photons strike the thin barrier between two materials. Once being silicon the other being another semiconductor. Without that layer exposed to the sunlight there would be no electrons to free up and collect.

So even if there was a way to expose a "liquid" solar cell to sunlight the materials would have to have very low melting points otherwise you will use more energy to keep it liquid then it would generate.

Interesting subject though.

Silicone has been used in liquid form for other purposes. The exact formula for a solar panel would need to be created through research but what if one of the off the shelf silicone oils proved to work even just a little bit.

[Sunking]

Silicone has been used in liquid form for other purposes. The exact formula for a solar panel would need to be created through research but what if one of the off the shelf silicone oils proved to work even just a little bit.

Solar panels ARE NOT made from silicone. Seems you do not know the difference between silicone and silicon.

• Silicone is a synthetic rubber which has multiple uses like caulk and making great big (.)(.)'s
• Silicon is a tetravalent metalloid with an atomic number of 14, symbol Si and is mined from sand. It is used to make things like glass, transistors, and solar panel cells.

[Ted Hoke]

Solar panels ARE NOT made from silicone. Seems you do not know the difference between silicone and silicon.

• Silicone is a synthetic rubber which has multiple uses like caulk and making great big (.)(.)'s
• Silicon is a tetravalent metalloid with an atomic number of 14, symbol Si and is mined from sand. It is used to make things like glass, transistors, and solar panel cells.

Dam. Your right I was thinking silicone, but I am not done. There are solar panels that can be painted onto a surface so they must be liquid and there are other substances other than silicon that break electron out of protons. I will have to do more research. Does anyone know what other substances can be used in place of silicon?

Not likely but, maybe raw rubber or maple syrup they are from trees that harness energy from the sun (Humm).

Thank you all for your replies.

[Ted Hoke]

Using IBM's Crowdsourced Supercomputer, Harvard Rates Solar Energy Potential of 2.3 M

Dam. Your right I was thinking silicone, but I am not done. There are solar panels that can be painted onto a surface so they must be liquid and there are other substances other than silicon that break electron out of protons. I will have to do more research. Does anyone know what other substances can be used in place of silicon?

Not likely but, maybe raw rubber or maple syrup they are from trees that harness energy from the sun (Humm).

Thank you all for your replies.

Check out this site: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pr...ease/41333.wss and this one: http://www.molecularspace.org/

Seems the government tasked IBM to research

[russ]

Check out this site: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pr...ease/41333.wss and this one: http://www.molecularspace.org/

Seems the government tasked IBM to research

Leading edge research in the lab is at least 20 years out to commercial and about 99.99% never sees the light of day.

[SunEagle]

Dam. Your right I was thinking silicone, but I am not done. There are solar panels that can be painted onto a surface so they must be liquid and there are other substances other than silicon that break electron out of protons. I will have to do more research. Does anyone know what other substances can be used in place of silicon?

Not likely but, maybe raw rubber or maple syrup they are from trees that harness energy from the sun (Humm).

Thank you all for your replies.

Actually DuPont had been working on a semi-conductor paint which had properties similar to solar cells. It would allow them to easily apply the "solar paint" to a substrate and then collect electrons from embedded wiring. That was more than 15 years ago. I haven't seen much in the way of a commercial product yet but time will tell.

There is a lot of research going on but most of those technologies have never left the lab. The research continues but don't get fooled into helping them fund their work. Most of them are just black holes where the money disappears.