Tag Archives: Milan Karki

Teenager invents super-cheap solar panel using human hair that could change the world.

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Milan Karki, and 18 year old from a  village in rural Nepal, believes he’s found a solution for the developing world’s energy needs.  Milan has invented a solar panel that uses human hair as a conductor.  The human hair replaces the silicone used in most solar panels.  Silicone is expensive, and if these human hair solar panels were mass produced, they could be sold for a quarter of the price of a traditional solar panel.

Human hair works as a conductor because it contains melanin, which give hair it’s pigment, but is also light sensitive, which makes it one of the factors in the conversion of energy.

Hair replaces silicon in these solar panels

These solar panels, can bring electricity to rural places that are not wired for electricity.  They are also very easy and inexpensive to maintain.  The solar panel can charge a mobile phone, or a battery pack that would provide light for the evening.