Solar panels work well in plenty of sunshine, but many areas have little sunshine every day and the energy provided is not enough to meet relevant needs.
According to foreign media reports, researchers at Tufts University in the United States have found that a special type of jewel orchid grows vigorously under low light conditions, which may be the key to solving this problem.
(Source: Tufts University) Engineering faculty members Giulia Guidetti and Fiorenzo Omenetto said that the leaves of Macodes petola jewel orchid are composed of dome-shaped cells that can absorb three times more light than ordinary plant “skin” cells and share light with neighboring cells, essentially equivalent to a light network.
This network process can make full use of light so that plants can convert sunlight into chemical energy, which is important for plant functions.
, Frank C.
, Tufts University Omenetto, Doble professor of engineering and director of Silklab, said the researchers replicated these cell patterns using silk protein-based biomaterials to mimic the light gathering and optical networking capabilities of orchids, and proposed that solar panels made of this material “will surpass current flexible solar cells.
” Now, the researchers have obtained the W.M. A US$1.
2 million grant from the Keck Foundation is used to further study plant light collection systems and the possibility of using optical networks of these systems to improve solar efficiency.
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