Your LCD Rental May Soon Run on Sunshine

The wizards over at MIT have come up with a brand new technology that will give a whole new dimension to the realm of solar panels. The new solar cells are made paper-thin, and are powerful enough at this time to power an LCD clock.

This technology will be adaptable to larger scale LCD devices as well – in due time. According to the researchers, there are plans to begin incorporating this latest invention into iPads and other products. The new possibilities are truly endless.

According to Karen Gleason, the associate dean of engineering research at MIT, "Rather than confining solar power to rooftops or solar farms, paper photovoltaics can be used virtually anywhere, making energy ubiquitous.”

These new solar sheets are far different than standard, commercial options, and they are likely going to spark a whole new market within the electronics sector.

MIT’s research was funded by Eni, one of Italy’s largest oil companies, and the company is encouraged by the results.  Umberto Vergine, Eni’s vice president of research, shared his thoughts on the developments. Umberto said, “The flexibility of the cells and the versatility of sizes and shapes can provide solutions for many outdoor products including boating equipment, tents, sun-shields or even clothing.” He added, “There’s a wide choice out there. The Eni and MIT teams are working now to pick the right one to get to the market.”

If the above statement is any indication, it won’t be long before we see this technology going mainstream.

There is one concern to note: the new solar cells aren’t quite capable of powering a tablet or laptop… yet. But the current efficiency rates are hovering around two percent – which isn’t totally optimal. Within two years, however, the team expects to get that efficiency rate up to about eight percent – which will be enough to power the next gen smartphones.

So what does that all mean? In about five years, we will see our LCD rental units, among other things, running on solar power.

Get your shades on. It’s time for the next revolution in tech.