CTV.ca | New plastic can better convert solar energy

From a Design standpoint I found this very inspiring. If you can actually wear the absorber and collect the energy, store and disperse at will then you can power your wireless gadgets, phones, laptops, pdas, camers..this is the future I've been waiting for!

CTV.ca | New plastic can better convert solar energy

Sargent said the new plastic composite is, in layman's terms, a layer of film that "catches" solar energy. He said the film can be applied to any device, much like paint is coated on a wall.

"We've done the same thing, but not with something that just sit there on the wall the way paint does," said the Ottawa native.

"We've done it to make a device which actually harnesses the power in the room in the infrared."

The film can convert up to 30 per cent of the sun's power into usable, electrical energy. Today's best plastic solar cells capture only about six per cent.

Sargent said the advance would not only wipe away that inefficiency, but also resolve the hassle of recharging our countless gadgets and pave the way to a true wireless world.