Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) scientists have devised an efficient and practical solar power device using sheets of glass covered with organic dyes. They say this clean and renewable energy source is more affordable and the device "may provide a better way to extract energy from the sun". Solar power so far has proven costlier than standard energy sources. MIT scientists used glass sheets coated in organic dyes to concentrate light hitting the panes. The dyes absorbed the light, emitted it into the glass, which carried the light to the edges of the pane much as fibre-optic cables transport light over distances. At the edges of the glass are located small solar cells that then transform the light into electricity. Existing solar concentrators use mirrors or lenses to concentrate the light.

Source: Down To Earth, August 2008