Photo credit: Nina Vaidya
Stanford University researchers, led by engineering researcher Nina Vaidya, have developed an optical concentrator that can be used to gather and concentrate light, regardless of the angle or frequency of that light. Called AGILE (Axially Graded Index Lens), it resembles an upside-down pyramid with the point lopped off, allowing light to enter the square, while the tile-able top funnels it downwards to create a brighter spot at the output.
Early prototypes managed to capture 90% of the light that hit the surface and created spots at the output that were three times brighter than the incoming light. When AGILE is installed in a layer on top of solar cells, they could make solar arrays far more efficient by capturing not only direct sunlight, but also diffusing light that has been scattered by the Earth’s atmosphere, weather, and seasons. Who knows? It may even work on the International Space Station’s solar array.
Sale
Solar Power Bank,Solar Charger,42800mAh Power Bank,Portable Charger,External Battery Pack 5V3.1A Qc 3.0 Fast Charging Built-in Super Bright Flashlight(Orange)
- Power bank has a large battery capacity of 42800mAh, and uses high-density batteries to load a larger capacity without changing the volume and weight. The super battery life allows you to get rid of the anxiety and worries about the depletion of the device power anytime and anywhere.
- Solar power bank uses strong professional ABS material, Chemical resistant, heat-resistant, and has super surface hardness, high elasticity and toughness. IP67 waterproof,drop-proof and dust-proof, so you no longer worry about damage caused by water/drop, it can work in extreme environments. With more than 1600+ charging life cycles, it is very reliable and durable.
- Power bank is equipped with a super bright LED flashlight with a long range, It can work continuously for up to 100 hours.
- Solar power bank is compatible with all USB devices such as smartphones and tablets. The product has 2 USB output ports, if the device is compatible, it can support the QC3.0 fast charge protocol.
- Friendly reminder:When the solar panel is being cared for, it will generate current to charge the battery, and the indicator light will flash.Solar charging is affected by the instability of sunshine intensity and duration. The battery capacity of the product is very large, so the charging will be very slow and should be used as an emergency function. For daily charging, please use a charger with a power above 5V2A to charge the device.
It’s a completely passive system – it doesn’t need energy to track the source or have any moving parts. Without optical focus that moves positions or need for tracking systems, concentrating light becomes much simpler. We wanted to create something that takes in light and concentrates it at the same position, even as the source changes direction. We don’t want to have to keep moving our detector or solar cell or moving the system to face the source,” said Vaidya, who is now an assistant professor at the University of Southampton, UK.
