There has been some great invention made on solar panels.
Professor Ehud Gazit and his team created a discovery by working on Alheimer’s disease. People with that disease have a peptide called beta amyloid found in the plaques that form in their brains. The scientists they were actually doing some experiments and while working on self-assembling nano-tubules in the lab, they made an interesting discovery.
They did some assembly of the peptides to self-assemble in a vacuum. The final form gives tiny tubes that look like grass. The result of that nanocoating repels dust and water, which could be incredibly useful for protecting solar arrays from dust and sand.
Also, the material is acting as a super-capacitor. This could be good way to give lithium batteries more kick. The assembly technique is detailed in Nature Nanotechnology .
Photo: Tel Aviv University’s peptide forest. Credit: American Friends of Tel Aviv University.