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Chinese Researchers Unlock Secret of Butterfly Wings to Make Efficient Solar Power

04/03/2012
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  • Butterfly solar Shanghai Jiao Tong University
    Chinese material scientists have been studying the design of butterfly wings to unlock ways to make solar electricity more efficient. Inspired by the way that butterflies use their wings to collect solar heat, researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University took a closer look at the wings' makeup. What they found was a shingle-like structure whose complex shape allows light to fall to the lower layers, doubling thelight-gathering potential. The insight could pave the way to electric solar panels which can produce much more energy in a smaller area.
    1
  • Butterfly solar Shanghai Jiao Tong University
    Chinese material scientists have been studying the design of butterfly wings to unlock ways to make solar electricity more efficient. Inspired by the way that butterflies use their wings to collect solar heat, researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University took a closer look at the wings' makeup. What they found was a shingle-like structure whose complex shape allows light to fall to the lower layers, doubling thelight-gathering potential. The insight could pave the way to electric solar panels which can produce much more energy in a smaller area.
    2
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Butterfly solar Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Chinese material scientists have been studying the design of butterfly wings to unlock ways to make solar electricity more efficient. Inspired by the way that butterflies use their wings to collect solar heat, researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University took a closer look at the wings' makeup. What they found was a shingle-like structure whose complex shape allows light to fall to the lower layers, doubling thelight-gathering potential. The insight could pave the way to electric solar panels which can produce much more energy in a smaller area.

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Categories:  Design, Environment, Renewable Energy, Solar, Technology
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