Who would have thought that shadows could also be a source of electricity? Scientists from the National University of Singapore have created a device that exploits the contrast between bright and dark spots in order to create electricity that can power small electronic devices.
We can harvest energy anywhere on Earth, not just open spaces,” says Swee Ching Tan, a materials scientist at the National University of Singapore.
Tan and his team created the device, called a shadow-effect energy generator, by placing a superthin coating of gold on silicon, a typical solar cell material. Like in a solar cell, light shining on silicon energizes its electrons. With the gold layer, the shadow-effect energy generator produces an electric current when part of the device lies in shadow.
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Someday, these generators might produce energy in the shadowy spots in a solar array, between skyscrapers or even indoors. “A lot of people think that shadows are useless,” Tan says. But “anything can be useful, even shadows.”
Amazing!
(Image Credit: Royal Society of Chemistry/ ScienceNews)