Inquiring Minds... Thank You!

Astounding, that’s what it is.

Each and everyday researchers somewhere throughout the world are making life-changing discovers in nearly every discipline. We are learning more everyday about those who preceded us on this earth and their incredible abilities to engineer and build as well as their unbelievable understanding of the sciences. 

Scientists specializing in microbiology, nanotechnology and physic, just to name a few, are modern day heroes, living on the cutting edge of knowledge and understanding. They are our future.

For one, I’m thankful for these inquiring minds and for the questions they ask.

Here’s an example:

Solar cell discovery opens a new window to powering tomorrow's cities, Ron Walli, phys.org, 23 Nov 2017.

Buildings of the future may come equipped with windows that can generate their own electricity, thanks to a finding of a team led by Jacqui Cole, a materials scientist from the University of Cambridge, UK, currently based at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory.

For the first time, Cole and colleagues determined the molecular structure of working solar cell electrodes within a fully assembled device that works like a window. The finding, published in Nanoscale, helps advance smart window technology that could enable cities to move closer to the goal of being energy sustainable.

The experiments were performed on dye-sensitized solar cells, which are transparent and thus well-suited for use in glass. Attempts to create smart window technologies have been limited by the many unknown molecular mechanisms between the electrodes and electrolyte that combine to determine how the device operates.

"Most previous studies have modeled the molecular function of these working electrodes without considering the electrolyte ingredients," Cole said. "Our work shows that these chemical ingredients can clearly influence the performance of solar cells, so we can now use this knowledge to tune the ions to increase photovoltaic efficiency."

The discovery was made with colleagues from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK. Researchers are continuing to apply this materials characterization technique to dye-sensitized solar cells, which could reveal further molecular secrets and lead the way to future energy applications.

Please go here for more of the story…

Simon & Garfunkel - Song For The Asking - 1970