The signal that my battery is empty triggers a panic attack, which starts with an almost hysterical search for a charger, and then for the nearest available outlet.
Now, imagine that feeling on a crowded bus on the way home, while I try to remember if I have a portable charger in my backpack and, more importantly, whether its battery is charged. This might sound dramatic, and many would say that I am surely exaggerating, but I believe that everyone who uses public transportation in Belgrade understands me.
You can then understand my excitement when I read that scientists from the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford have developed an ultra-thin material that absorbs light, produces energy, and can be applied to a mobile phone, backpack, car, almost any surface. So, with this “miracle,” I can paint or even cover my mobile phone, and the battery will always be 100 percent full. My joy knew no bounds.
Jokes aside, this discovery is truly fascinating. After five years of experiments and calculations, scientists managed, using a pioneering technique developed in Oxford, which layers multiple light-absorbing layers into a single solar cell, to harness a broader range of the light spectrum, allowing more energy to be produced from the same amount of sunlight. They have created a new material that not only absorbs light in a much more efficient way but is also thin and flexible enough to be applied to various surfaces.
Researchers believe that their approach will continue to reduce the costs of solar energy and also make it the most sustainable form of renewable energy.
And while I wait for this innovative solution to become available, I carry both a cable and a portable battery, just in case.
