If you are like me, then you are always looking for new ways to live a greener, more energy-efficient life. (And looking for an alternative energy source for when the zombie apocalypse happens.) Imagine a world where iPhones could charge themselves just from being in the sunlight. In this new world, your windows would provide power for your entire home, and the finish on your car would also power it. Sound too good to be true? It might not be.
According to Popular Science: "Ubiquitous Energy, a spinoff of MIT, has created a coating made of organic molecules that absorb the sun’s ultraviolet and infrared rays. Since the light isn’t in the visible range (for humans), the coating appears clear. The material doubles as a semiconductor: When photons hit the surface, they excite electrons that flow as an electrical current to power the device."
Devices with the coating are anticipated to convert solar energy into electricity with 10 percent efficiency.
To learn more, read "Turn Your Smartphone Into A Solar Panel" from Popular Science.
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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