Free Energy from Solar Circuit made with Human Hair...Science & Tech News (UK)

[wile_coyote7]

Shamelessly copied from:

http://sites.google.com/site/edwardcraighyatt/hairsolarpanelnepal


Nepal Human Hair Solar Panel Hoax
"The idea that human hair can be used as a solar cell has long been "debunked" but continues to be circulated on so-called "free energy" or "zero-point energy" blogs. The claims on these blogs seem to be based on confusion about the nature of static electricity and the misinterpretation of research on melanin's electro-optical and semiconductor properties."

An article appeared in the Daily Mail claiming that a young Nepalese boy had made a solar panel from human hair capable of generating 9VDC at 18W.  The article is complete with pictures of the smiling boy and his solar panel, proclaiming him as the "next Edison": A new type of solar panel using human hair could provide the world with cheap, green electricity, believes its teenage inventor. Milan Karki, 18, who comes from a  village in rural Nepal, believes he has found the solution to the developing world's energy needs. The young inventor says hair is easy to use as a conductor in solar panels and could revolutionise renewable energy. The article was immediately picked up and circulated world-wide on ecology
and technology blogs.  It is rather sad that nobody bothered to do a bit of fact checking before circulating this item.  Even quotes from the boy indicate a problem from the outset, as he seems to claim a relationship between static electricity and the photovoltaic effect; two completely unrelated phenomena.  Anyone who completed a high school physics course ought to have heard alarm bells: He was originally inspired after reading a book by physicist Stephen Hawking, which discussed ways of creating static energy from hair. 'I realised that Melanin was one of the factors in conversion of energy,' he said. The boy claims he has sent several units out for evaluation which, on the face of it, lends credibility to his claim:  'I'm trying to produce commercially and distribute to the districts. We've already sent a couple out to the districts to test for feasibility,' he said.

As discussed below, the claimed output of this device does not agree with the published properties of photoelectric organic dyes, making it likely that a conventional solar cell is concealed inside the panel.  Furthermore, the article states, "Half a kilo of hair can be bought for only 16p in Nepal and lasts a few months, whereas a pack of batteries would cost 50p and last a few nights. People can replace the hair easily themselves, says Milan, meaning his solar panels need little servicing".  This statement indicates that the device uses human hair directly, not purified, extracted melanin which further invalidates the claim.  Human hair is non-conductive and not photochemically active.

Using organic materials or readily available waste products such as human hair to generate solar energy has its romantic appeal, but the cost of extraction, purification, and end-product stability must be considered.  For example, separating melanin from hair requires the use of harsh chemical solvents and heat, and the disposal of these chemical agents as well as the energy required to heat the solution must be considered.  Also, melanin itself isn't photo-reactive enough, but is typically used to enhance the current-generating capability of organic dyes, so a device would require additional chemical agents in addition to melanin.  In short, we must consider not just the initial cost of raw materials, but  all factors involved in manufacturing and using any particular solution.  It may be an over-simplification, but consider that the element silicon, used in solar cells, is one of the three most common elements on earth and is essentially purified sand, making silicon a cheap, stable, and relatively inexpensive solution as compared to organics.

The idea that human hair can be used as a solar cell has long been "debunked" but continues to be circulated on so-called "free energy" or "zero point energy" blogs. The claims on these blogs seem to be based on confusion about the nature of static electricity and misinterpretation of research on melanin's electro-optical and semiconductor properties.  Usually these blogs take technical-sounding quotes from published papers out of context to make it appear that human hair, because it contains melanin, is capable of generating electricity when exposed to sunlight.  Any rational response to these claims is discounted, usually with the excuse that it is motivated by nebulous greedy corporations or "big oil".  Of course, it would be wonderful if we could discover an infinite source of free zero-point energy, energy from water, or solar energy generated from human hair.  Unfortunately, these claims are all false.

Melanin Properties
While it is true that melanin can enhance the photovoltaic properties of organic dyes, the isolation of purified melanin, production of the accompanying dyes, and instability of these products makes the use of melanin for solar power generation infeasible at present - although research in the area of organics is ongoing.  As regards the proposed solar panel based on human hair, it appears from photos that strands of human hair are matted beneath the front conductive cover which would require the hair itself to be a conductor or semiconductor.  After my own testing and referenced tests, even hair processed in an electrolyte such as a salt solution remains, itself, nonconductive.  It is possible to extract melanin from hair by dissolving the keratin (hair's structural protein) by boiling the hair in a strong acid or alkalai solution. The problem is that such harsh methods tend to destroy the pigment or alter its chemical properties. There are more concentrated sources of melanin (eumelanin) than hair available in nature, e.g. cuttlefish ink and the uveal tract and retinal pigment epithelium of bovine eyes. The most economical way to obtain melanin is to simply purchase the synthetic compound. The electrical, semiconductor, electroluminescent, and optical properties of melanin films are well-studied.  The properties, which are highly variable, are a function of heat, presence of  water, and other environmental factors. The use of isolated melanin to enhance the photovoltaic properties of organic dyes has  been studied, for example, Hanyz & Wrobel (2002) and especially in Solis, et al (2007).  A discussion of melanin chemistry is found in Nordland, Boissy, et al., The Pigmentary System: Physiology and Pathophysiology, 2nd ed, Wiley-Blackwell, 2006, pp. 289-290.  The overall conclusion is that, at present, the use of melanin for solar energy production is impractical because it requires the presence of additional expensive organic dyes and because such dyes have been shown to be unstable.

Verification of Prototype Solar Panels
1.  First, do a physical inspection for hidden solar cells or batteries. If possible, disassemble and inspect the panel.  I expect he has hidden a 9V 18W unit inside.  Using the photograph shown with the article of the boy holding up the solar panel, I held up a tape measure to a mirror to estimate the dimensions of his panel and estimated it to be 2ft on a side.  The advertised dimensions of the solar panel listed above are 638mm x 278mm or about 2.09ft wide.  In other words, the panel shown in the photo is roughly the right size to conceal a typical 9V 18W solar panel.
2.  Measure the voltage produced both in darkness and in full sunlight.  Clearly, if the panel produces energy in darkness, it has a hidden battery.
3.  In a darkened room, measure the resistance from positive to negative and then reverse the leads.  If the device is a true solar cell, the resistance will be high in one direction and low in the reverse direction.
4.  Expose the device to sunlight and ensure that it is generating voltage.  Once this is so, break the connection of one or more of the thin wires interconnecting the "cells".  If the device continues to generate voltage, that indicates it has solar panels hidden in it.  It might also be that the thin wires interconnect individual solar cells hidden behind the backing.
5.  By masking different regions of the device, it should be possible to locate where the solar cells are hidden.

Why The Human Hair Solar Generator Is A Hoax
1. Hair is a non-conductor as illustrated by this controlled experiment. If hair is a non-conductor, then it cannot be a semiconductor.  In order to release electrons when illuminated, it would be necessary for hair to be a semiconductor.
2. The claimed voltage and power levels of 9V/18W are far too high.  There is not enough photovoltaic material present to generate these levels, insufficient surface area, insufficient energy in the pictured light source, and the diameter of the thin conductors interconnecting the cells is too small to carry the claimed current of 1 to 2 amps without burning up.
3. In a true solar cell, the photovoltaic material must be sandwiched between conductive surfaces in order to capture electrons released as the material is excited by photons.  It must be assumed that the black background in the photographs is a mat of hair sandwiched between a conductive substrate and a translucent conductive front surface. The gold/brass conductors connected by thin wires supposedly interconnect the cells.  However, since hair is an insulator, not a semiconductor, no potential will be generated between the backing and the front surface.
4. In order to take advantage of melanin's semiconducting properties, it would need to be isolated and purified chemically.  Since hair is a non-conducting medium, it cannot be used directly as shown in the photographs.
5. I personally conducted an experiment to test whether human hair was conductive or was able to generate electricity when
exposed to the sun or to artificial UV (generated by a UV LED).  My test shows that human hair is non-conductive and does not generate electricity under any circumstances.  I used a sample of jet black human hair.  Of course, this is just a demonstration, not a controlled experiment, however, it's simple to replicate.  If you have any doubts try it yourself.

The photo to the left shows strands of hair fixed to small white card.  Interleaved loops of bare wire sit on top of the strands, and the whole fixture is secured with clear tape.  The leads are attached to the test leads of a digital voltmeter.  In this particular test, I illuminated the sample with UV from a UV LED and there was no voltage produced, even with the meter set to maximum sensitivity (capable of detecting a fraction of a mV).  I tried the same test outside in full sunlight with no results.  Finally, I measured the resistance of the sample at the most sensitive range, and the resistance was infinite, indicating that human hair is a non-conductor.

Conclusion:  It is not possible to use human hair in any configuration to generate electrical energy when exposed to light.

[xee2]

@ wile_coyote7

Thanks for the post.

[triffid]

Thank you too for your post.It seems the story itself is only 2 days old but he(18yo) claims he discovered it 3 years ago.triffid

[Hman]

@Wiley...Great Post...

Although some of those comments are clearly presumptuous--I have to agree with most of the analysis... The original story was released by the DailyMail.co.uk and every other post about it on the web refers to this article. 

Even Fast Company did the "shake and bake" and referred to the 12 year old 3d solar kid announced a year ago...Can't believe the amount of news articles and re-postings of this one article on the web.

I noticed the photographer is all over the web and pretty easy to contact.  Without anymore information and the arguments proposed, I would call this close to dead.

Maybe I missed the "long ago debunked" and all the so called free energy blogs that continue to circulate these stories.  Sounds like he has seen this one before...I can't find those previous posts, can you? Those types of comments only weaken the nice point that was being made.

[triffid]

So I guess the human hair story is pretty much a hoax?But melanin is not?triffid