Related papers: Solar cell as self-oscillating heat engine
Studies of emerging photovoltaics, such as organic and perovskite solar cells, have recently shown that the separation of photo-generated charge carriers is correlated with non-thermal, coherent oscillations within the illuminated device.…
A solar cell is a heat engine, but textbook treatments are not wholly satisfactory from a thermodynamic standpoint, since they present solar cells as directly converting the energy of light into electricity, and the current in the circuit…
In the previous paper of Alicki et.al. a model of a solar cell has been proposed in which the non-periodic source of energy - photon flux - drives the collective periodic motion of electrons in a form of plasma oscillations. Subsequently,…
The paper considers a model for the solar cell as a mechanical open-cycle thermodynamic engine where the chemical potential is produced in an isochoric process corresponding to the thermalization of electron-hole pairs. Expansion of the…
One of the basic questions of solar research is the nature of the Sun. We show here how the plasma nature of the Sun leads to the self-generation of solar activity. The release of magnetic, rotational, gravitational, nuclear energies and…
A quintessential source of heat, the Sun radiates toward the Earth a power ten thousand times greater than humanity's energy needs. Harnessing this energy bounty, however, requires capturing and converting sunlight. Today, this conversion…
In conventional solar cells, photogenerated carriers lose part of their energy before they can be extracted to make electricity. The aim of hot-carrier solar cells is to extract the carriers before this energy loss, thereby turning more…
Based on the rate of expansion of the solar wind, the plasma should cool rapidly as a function of distance to the Sun. Observations show this is not the case. In this work, a magnetic pumping model is developed as a possible explanation for…
Organic solar cells have the potential to be low-cost and efficient solar energy converters, with a promising energy balance. They are made from carbon-based semiconductors, which exhibit favourable light absorption and charge generation…
Hot-carrier solar cells use the photon excess energy, that is, the energy exceeding the absorber bandgap, to do additional work. These devices have the potential to beat the upper limit for the photovoltaic power conversion efficiency set…
Organic solar cells (OSCs) have received a special attention over the past years due to their solution processability, low cost, flexibility and capability of role-to-role production. The power conversion efficiency of these devices has…
Organic heterojunction solar cells are analyzed within a minimal model that includes the essential physical features of such systems. The dynamical properties of this model, calculated using a master equation approach, account for the…
An integrated Magneto-Fluid model, that accords full treatment to the Velocity fields associated with the directed plasma motion, is developed to investigate the dynamics of coronal structures. It is suggested that the interaction of the…
The magnetic field of the Sun is the underlying cause of the many diverse phenomena combined under the heading of solar activity. Here we describe the magnetic field as it threads its way from the bottom of the convection zone, where it is…
Active phenomena which involve force generation and motion play a key role in a number of phenomena in living cells such as cell motility, muscle contraction and the active transport of material and organelles. Here we discuss mechanical…
For almost sixty years, solar energy for space applications has relied on inorganic photovoltaics, evolving from solar cells made of single crystalline silicon to triple junctions based on germanium and III-V alloys. The class of…
The Sun is a magnetically active star and is the source of the solar wind, electromagnetic radiation and energetic particles which affect the heliosphere and the Earths atmosphere. The magnetic field of the Sun is responsible for most of…
The Sun operates like a giant plasma diffuser that sorts lighter isotopes and elements to the solar surface. Measurements indicate that the interior of the Sun consists mostly of the same seven, even-numbered elements as ordinary…
The Sun is a powerful neutrino source that can be used to study the physical properties of neutrinos and, at the same time, neutrinos are a unique tool to probe the interior of the Sun. For these reasons, solar neutrino physics is both…
Solar neutrinos, generated abundantly by thermonuclear reactions in the solar interior, offer a unique tool for studying astrophysics and particle physics. The observation of solar neutrinos has led to the discovery of neutrino oscillation,…