Think Round: Korean Company Develops Spherical Solar Cell

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.physorg.com/news111670954.html

Think Round: Korean Company Develops Spherical Solar Cell

Kyosemi Corporation has developed a highly efficient round solar cell. The Sphelar is a registered trademark of Kyosemi Corp. The advantages of the Sphelar is its unique ability to capture the sun in all directions and utilize indirect and diffuse light. The other feature is in production. It utilizes a method wherein there is little waste of silicon.

The South Korean Company Kyosemi Corporation has developed a spherical solar cell called the Sphelar. Given the spherical like shape Sphelar is capable of greater power efficiency and flexibility in applications than conventional flat solar cell panels. The product measures 1 mm in diameter.

The Sphelar has the unique ability to follow the sun due to its round shape. As the sun takes on different positions dependent on the season or time of day, the Sphelar is capable of capturing the sun rays. Sphelar captures light from all directions. It can capture reflected light and diffused light. Due to its shape the Sphelar by design can capture the sun without artificially having to track the sun as with ordinary flat solar cell panels. The Sphelar light sensitive surface is therefore able to achieve high energy efficiency.

The unique design of the Sphelar with a diameter of only 1 mm to 1.5 mm allows it to be installed in a variety of energy efficient settings. It can be placed in a parallel format or in a series. The advantage of the Sphelar is that it will not block views as some conventional flat solar cell panels have been found to do.

Sphelar is efficient from a manufacturing stand point. As opposed to conventional flat solar cell manufacturing the Sphelar has little or no waste product. The Sphelar is made by a process of melted silicon that is subjected to free fall. Whereby spheres are created naturally by the microgravity conditions. The result creates little or no waste of raw materials. This feature is cost effective and provides efficient use of the rare component silicon.

According to Kyosemi Corp. the production costs in producing Sphelar are halved as compared to the conventional production of flat solar cell panels. In addition, the Sphelar is environmentally friendly both in production and in use.

[ixion]

1. sweet!

It's always a pleasure to see some truly innovative technology coming down the pike. :woohoo:

[soothsayer]

2. thank god at least SOME country SOMEWHERE is moving forward.

[gateley]

3. What a brilliant and now, after the fact, simple approach! K&R nt

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Um, KOREAN? Thought this was a Japanese company ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=82433&mesg_id=82433

[Canuckistanian]

5. Yes, it's Japanese

Home page (English):
http://www.kyosemi.co.jp/index_e.html

Sphelar product page:
http://www.kyosemi.co.jp/product/pro_ene_sun_e.html

[ChairmanAgnostic]

6. bleh. you still waste 50 % or more of the capacity

because no place on earth, but for a pole, does that great ball of fire reach all sides of any structure. Check out a tree in the forest and see where the moss grows.

[Nihil]

7. Not sure if you were serious ...

... but if so:

1) The spherical cell was shown in the referenced page to be mounted inside
a curved reflector so everything (except the mounting point) is being used
to collect light from "in front" of the assembly - hence more efficient.

2) The alternative is that on a mobile appliance, it allows the same fraction
of the sphere to be continuously in sunlight whilst avoiding the complexity of
tracking mechanisms. (Mind you, I've only just thought about this so there is
a risk that it's complete b*ll*cks!)

:hi:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

8. I like the idea of mobile tech. in which case

that burning sky ball would reach all sides.

A friend of mine just installed three competing solar systems on his huge house in NJ. He just passed along the plans of the most cost and power efficient one (I don't have 1/10 of his income) which even I could afford. I think.

He is an engineer and seriously has put dents into his gas/oil/electrical consumption.