12:38 Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Self Cleaning Solar Panels Possible
Researchers at the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology at Tel Aviv University have published in Nature Nanotechnology a paper describing a new way to way to control the atoms and molecules of peptides so that they grow to resemble small forests of grass. These "peptide forests" repel dust and water - a perfect self-cleaning coating for windows or solar panels which, when dirty, become far less efficient. More coverage here.
This stuff is important, see Google's recent blog about how clean solar panels are more efficient.
