Solar Panels that work at night

Its seems a bit unbelievable but current research is working on solar panels that work 24/7

this is just on of the possibilities raised by a 'supercapacitor'

It is the first supercapacitor that is made out of silicon so it can be built into a silicon chip along with the microelectronic circuitry that it powers. In fact, it should be possible to construct these power cells out of the excess silicon that exists in the current generation of solar cells, sensors, mobile phones and a variety of other electromechanical devices, providing a considerable cost savings.

crazy idea! ell it might be, but if it works, its not crazy

Instead of storing energy in chemical reactions such as in batteries, "supercaps" store electricity by assembling ions on the surface of a porous material.

As a result, they tend to charge and discharge in minutes, instead of hours, and operate for a few million cycles, instead of a few thousand cycles like batteries.

These properties have allowed commercial supercapacitors, which are made out of activated carbon, to capture a few niche markets, such as storing energy captured by regenerative braking systems on electric vehicles and to provide the bursts of power required to adjust of the blades of giant wind turbines to changing wind conditions.

Supercapacitors still lag behind the electrical energy storage capability of lithium-ion batteries, so they are too bulky to power most consumer devices. However, they have been catching up rapidly.

exciting times ahead