More efficient solar cells:

[Salviati]

Looks like there's some compitition for improving the effiency of solar cells... For those who missed the thread from a while back on the new material discovered allowing a full spectrum solar cell it can be found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=115&topic_id=7640

but it looks like this idea has got some compitition:

http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/051904/Solar_crystals_get_2-for-1_051904.html

Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory have tapped the efficiencies of nanotechnology to increase solar cells' potential energy production by as much as 37 percent.
...
The Los Alamos researchers have found that it is possible to increase a cell's energy production by making each photon move two electrons. "Carrier-multiplication-enhanced solar cells can, in principle, produce twice as large a current as conventional solar cells," said Victor Klimov, a team leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
...
This happens via impact ionization. "In this effect, the conduction-band electron energy is transferred to the valence-band electron and excites it across the energy gap," said Klimov. "As a result, instead of one conduction-band electron we have two electrons that can contribute to electrical current," he said. "Normally, without impact ionization, the... energy is lost as heat."

[TreeHuggingLiberal]

1. I know this is off topic...

But Sifl and Olly rock!!!

[NNadir]

2. These cells utilize lead selenide.

Both lead and selenium are toxic metals. Thus these cells are likely to have a high environmental external cost, not as high as coal, but higher than nuclear and wind power.