Solar cells can now be made so thin light and flexible that they can rest on a soap bubble.
Mit solar panel as thin as bubble.
To demonstrate just how thin and lightweight the cells are the researchers draped a working cell on top of a soap bubble without popping the bubble.
Nearly all modern solar panels have one thing in common.
The new cells which efficiently capture energy from light could offer an alternative way to power.
Mit researchers created solar cells that are so thin and light that they can be draped on top of a soap bubble without popping the bubble.
The solar panel as light as a soap bubble.
Joel jean and anna osherov.
The mit team has achieved the thinnest and lightest complete solar cells ever made they say.
More recently another major breakthrough has been made by researchers from mit who have apparently managed to design super thin versions of solar panels that are as light as a soap bubble.
We wanted people to see how thin this solar cell was.
That heft adds to the cost of transporting and installing solar pv systems which today makes up a large part of the cost of solar electricity.
Researchers at mit have created prototype solar cells so light and so thin that they can be balanced on the surface of a soap bubble without breaking it joel jean and anna osherov view 1 image.
The panels would be most effective using thin.
A 3 millimeter thick glass sheet protects and supports the solar cells beneath it but also contributes up to 90 of the panel s total weight.
The new cells which efficiently capture energy from light could offer an alternative way to power.