Researchers from the Imperial College in London and other collaborators from China, Belgium and Japan have found that creating a solar panel that closely resembles the connecting face of a Lego block can absorb energy more efficiently.
The small aluminum studs are invisible to the human eye but close up, the design of the panel takes on a familiar shape. The technology works by bending and scattering the light, causing the light to traverse more surface area before finally being absorbed.
Solar energy is still much more costly than using fossil fuels, but the recent findings may be of some relief. Scientists had previously tried using gold and silver studs but found that these metals were not as effective as aluminum, a much cheaper and abundant metal.
Source: Nature.com
