12 Year Old Boy Invents New Type of Solar Cell
Now here’s a story that makes me feel profoundly unaccomplished: a 12 year old boy in Beaverton, Oregon recently developed a new type of 3D solar cell that makes other solar cells look inefficient by comparison.
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William Yuan’s 3D cell can absorb both visible and UV light. According to his calculations, solar panels equipped with his 3D cells could provide 500 times more light absorption than current commercial solar cells and nine times more light than existing 3D solar cells.
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Yuan received a well-deserved $25,000 scholarship for his research. The next step? Getting his invention to market. Of course, the viability of his solar cells will ultimately depend on their cost efficiency—but Yuan has his whole life ahead of him to work on that.
You can check out the original press release here.
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Hey Kirk Englehardt,
1. I believe the report indicates the kid developed a new type of 3D solar cell. Tehrefore, your “clarification” may be pointless.
2. He is 12. From the looks of things, perhaps Georgia Tech and Dr. Jud Ready should get in touch with him.
Edward…
Read again.. it doesn’t say 500times more efficient it says 500 times more light. big difference.
I work with students all day in Science, and I will be sharing this artical with them this week.
Your on the right road, keep up the great work and living the dream. Thank you for being here.
3D carbon nanotubes aren’t a new invention. But it will be interesting to see how he gets 9x output, if indeed he did.
Wow… And at 12 years old, I was… not inventing 3d Solar Cells.
I dont believe this, where is the evidence?
This is not a creditable source….. BS
P.S. My grandma invented a time machine!
When I was twelve I was a smart kid too, eventually I reached the regional science fair and won third place for my division. However none of the research projects there could compare to what this kid did, in cost (is this a theory or did he actually make it) or complexity (seriously, nanotech is like rocket science).
I’m all for young people to achieve but going from lego to nanotechnology is one big leap (or small leap if you really think about it). There is the inherent cost, years of research that is needed to understand all the advance math. Plus development time. None of which I see in the attached article (seriously - 12 years old and he’s “inventing” that kind of technology and outdoing PHD’s in that field?) I think if this was completely true we would of heard about this kid a long time ago.
I would mark this as suspicious or a bit of an over-exaggeration (is he the only name on the patent?) as he would have to be a machine to do all that in only 12 years (plus all those other activities he lists as doing - stuff does take time!). At least until its verified by an independent research or science organization.
Also if the cells live up to the hype, $25,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to what he will make for the technology - especially with the boost solar cells are going to get with the new silicon glass they can use that costs significantly less than the semiconductor-grade silicon they have been using in the past.
Edward, it collects 500 times more light, it isn’t 500 times more efficient.
I do want to add a clarification to the story. I interviewed William for KATU-TV, and he told me that he analyzed the 3D cells developed by Georgia Tech and Notre Dame. He made his own modifications, creating what he says is the first 3D solar cell that transforms both visible light and UV rays. He also says the ones he developed were more efficient. Experts in nanotechnology at Portland State reviewed his work, as well as professors who judged his work for the Davidson scholarship he received. I wish I could have included all of that info in my piece, but I only get 90 seconds to tell it on TV.
Thanks for your interest. And he definitely made me feel like a mental midget!
Should you be out playing basketball ?