creating solar cells out of beachsand and chemicals - that simple

[hiofarwa]

I have somewhere read on the web about the possibility of creating working solarcells out of beachsand and a mixture of chemicals alone that has to be poored out over the sand. The chemical reaction that appears takes 8 hours, resulting in a working PV-panel. But, unfortunately I lost the link to that idea. Does anybody hear or read about this? If so - post your comments!

[infringer]

THE 100 WATT SOLAR CELL: It is actually called the Situ Solar Cell,and my source has supplied details as follows:

New SOLAR CELLS
What is the [in situ] solar cell process?

That is the big breakthrough in solar cell design that drops the cost of solar power to $90 per kilowatt. Actually, the [in situ] (Latin for in place) technique is stunningly simple. Instead of refining the silicon and then building cells, you build the cells first and then refine the silicon.

The process generates a cell from ordinary beach sand (silicon dioxide). After cell fabrication, the sand is chemically treated. The reaction drives off the oxygen, leaving an almost pure polycrystalline silicon. Most conveniently. any remaining impurities rearrange themselves to form uniformly doped series connected p.n. junctions through a process celled Barefoot Layering. For each centimeter of cell thickness, you typically get several hundred series p.n. junctions or about 120 volts dc under normal sunlight. The thickness of the panel determines the voltage and the area the current. Typical current densities are four amperes per square meter of panel!

You can easily build a 100 watt cell. Simply take an ordinary metal cookie sheet, cover it uniformly with a 1 centimeter thick layer of beach sand, cover that with a piece of screening for the front collector, add a protective glass cover, and clamp everything together with large rubber bands, bungee cords, or something similar.

To do your final chemical refinement, carefully remove the glass cover and spray the sand with two liters of 3,7 Dimethylpentadecon-2-ol Propionate (available from larger organic chemical supply houses). [If any body finds a source for this let me know.] An ordinary window cleaner bottle makes a handy spray source. Reaction time is four hours, Since the reaction is photoisentropic It should be done under magenta safe light, such as that from a Portal Industries JJ-668 source.

The front terminal is positive and the greatest output will be obtained when the panel is pointed due south at an elevation of your latitude plus ten degrees. A group of panels can, of course, be wired in parallel for independent, on-site power.

If anyone builds one of these situ solar cells let me know how you get on.

[infringer]

    I found an article on how to build your own solar cells using ordinary beach sand and an organic chemical with the tongue twister name,3'7 Dimethylpentadecon-2-ol propionate in an April 1977 issue of Popular Electronics. Trouble is, I can't locate the chemical. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

    -- Keith (halfc@fidnet.com), July 25, 2001

Answers

    Look at the May issue; I think you're going to find an apology from the magazine because this was an april fools joke, and lots of people spent a lot of time trying to do this.

    I remember this incident, except I thought it was Popular Mechanics. But it's been 24 years, it looks like.

    Some of the Radio techs at Siskiyou National Forest spent a lot of time, and long distance phone calls, trying to track down the chemical, and had everyone in an uproar about it!

    JOJ

[hansvonlieven]

LOL

[ResinRat2]

Wow Infringer,

You really had me drooling.

What a bummer!!!!!!!!!!  LOL too!!!!!!!!!