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MacGyver

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Joined: 12/05/2009
Location: United States
Posts: 1329

Posted: 05:09am 27 Aug 2009

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Does anyone know anything about this stuff? It's a thin, plastic film.

I saw a little thing on you-tube about it and they said all you had to do
was stick it to a metal roof, leap-frog the connections and bingo; done
deal.

Apparently, there is a company that has developed a way to "print" plastic
sheet with something or other that when exposed to sunlight, creates
electricity. That'd be a super leap forward in my estimation. I've always
wondered if there was something simple that could be sprayed on metal
(like spray paint!) that would make it photovoltaic.

Just curious.

Nothing difficult is ever easy!
Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman,
"Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!"
Copeville, Texas

readyakira

Senior Member

Joined: 17/07/2008
Location: United States
Posts: 114

Posted: 01:59am 28 Aug 2009

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I've Seen this on the green channel at least thats the one I think it was. Anywho I haven't heard much about it but, I do believe it wears down fast. If I remember it is getting decent reviews on power output though.

Don't you think Free/Renewable energy should be mandatory in new buildings?

Barry T Coles

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Joined: 30/07/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 109

Posted: 01:58am 01 Sep 2009

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Hi new guy on the block.

This may help

Cheers
Barryhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYJe12X6T50Edited by Barry T Coles 2009-09-02

I need to learn from the mistakes of others.
I dont have the time to make them all myself.

MacGyver

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Joined: 12/05/2009
Location: United States
Posts: 1329

Posted: 04:36am 01 Sep 2009

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Barry T Coles:

That's the same place I first heard about it. Looks too simple to be true, so
maybe it's not, eh? You'd think if it were really that easy, people would be
beating a path to this guys door.

Thanks for the link.

Nothing difficult is ever easy!
Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman,
"Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!"
Copeville, Texas

Barry T Coles

Senior Member

Joined: 30/07/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 109

Posted: 01:17am 04 Sep 2009

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Here's a couple more links, as you say they dont seem to want to give out a lot of info if it is a real goer.
Maybe its going to have to be a case of wait & see.
Cheers
Barry
http://www.etaengineering.com/

http://www.robotshop.us/PT15-300-powerfilm-solar-cell-1.html ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=jos

I need to learn from the mistakes of others.
I dont have the time to make them all myself.

Bryan1

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Joined: 22/02/2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 1343

Posted: 10:50am 04 Sep 2009

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The CSIRO came up with super thin PV fabric and AGL bought the rights. Nothing has been heard of since the media put it on air great things were sprouted by as usual nothing happens. PV is great but be prepared to pay the $$$ to get it...............

MacGyver

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Joined: 12/05/2009
Location: United States
Posts: 1329

Posted: 12:34am 05 Sep 2009

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I think we should all put our heads together and figure out something idiot
proof that you can just spray on metal to make it photovoltaic and then
publish it on the Internet so some fool doesn't patent it and lock it away
forever.

I know; I'm dreaming, but there has to be something really simple we're just
barely missing. I'm putting it on my "impossible" to-do list!

Since the information on the film has not been updated, that puts us right in
the mix of the "hide and watch" crew anyway. What could it hurt to give it a
try, eh?

Nothing difficult is ever easy!
Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman,
"Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!"
Copeville, Texas

oztules

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Joined: 26/07/2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 1686

Posted: 12:55am 05 Sep 2009

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Making the dye to accept photons and expel electrons, seems to be the easy part... usefully hooking it up seems to be the problem.

A namesake company (Tullochs/dyesol... but not me) reads like this Tulloch/dyesol

They have had the dyes for years.... but a commercial productive device to harness this reaction seems to always be over the horizon. It is not conspiracy... just a tough problem.. both technically and economically.

Easy to paint the dye on the building... infact titanium oxide/dioxides in paints and the dyes share common ancestry.... but getting them electrons out cheaply to where wee need then seems to be a barrier to useful reliable cells.

If you think it is conspiracy, then order your nano-particulate dyes and pastes here and see how elcheapo and easy it isn't ...dye materials

My thoughts on it anyway

..........oztulesEdited by oztules 2009-09-06

Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth

MacGyver

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Joined: 12/05/2009
Location: United States
Posts: 1329

Posted: 06:25am 05 Sep 2009

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Naw, I'm thinking there's an easier way.

Remember Thomas Edison and the thousands of things he tried using to
manufacture a light bulb filament? It seems 'obvious' to us now for him
to use what he ultimately used, but from his side of the equation,
apparently it wasn't so obvious. I think that's where we are with this
whole PV thing.

My 'knower' somehow knows (or at least hopes) there is a truly simple
way to make electricity from sunlight and some common things, it's just
that nobody's stumbled across the magic potion yet, that's all.

That's why it's on my 'impossible' to-do list. It's gonna take some serious
fiddling around in the shop, but sooner or later one of us will come up
with the right combination and the problem will be solved.

Oh, and did I mention I'm the eternal optimist?

Nothing difficult is ever easy!
Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman,
"Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!"
Copeville, Texas

MacGyver

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Joined: 12/05/2009
Location: United States
Posts: 1329

Posted: 07:05pm 05 Sep 2009

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I did a little 'googling' and came up with this:

http://www.greenbang.com/doughnuts-tea-homemade-
photovoltaics_8322.html

I can't seem to make the silly link work, so you'll just have to copy and
paste it into your browser. Once there, click on the link in the first
paragraph, then watch the little movie.

This is what I'm talking about; just common stuff used to make electricity
from sunlight.

Disclaimer: I'll level with you; I don't know what the multi-meter reading
in the video actually portrays. Remember that this particular solar cell is
about as big as a postage stamp, so it's my hopes one as large as a shed
roof would actually put out some useable power. Here's hoping . . .

Aaaaargh! Can anyone clue me in as to why my posts are all mashed into
little columns? The rest of the crew here has mastered creating lines of
type that extend from margin to margin. Mine are somehow 'truncated';
go figure!Edited by MacGyver 2009-09-07

Nothing difficult is ever easy!
Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman,
"Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!"
Copeville, Texas

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