A teenager in Nepal has invented a solar panel made from human hair to solve the energy problems of his village which does not have access to electricity.
Inspired by a Stephen Hawking book—which states that human hair could generate static electricity—, he “realised that Melanin was one of the factors in conversion of energy”.
Based on this idea, he—with the help of his classmates—developed a human hair solar panel that is able to generate 18 watts of energy, which is approximately the amount of energy required to charge a phone.
By replacing the silicon used in solar panels with human hair, he was able to bring down the price of the panel to just US$38—which is a quarter of the price of a conventional solar panel.
If mass-produced, this could be the solution to the energy needs of the developing world.
[via Daily Mail UK]