# Plastic Solar Cells Let Your Shirt Charge Your Phone **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 13, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484 "2005-01-13T03:08:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484/1 "2005-01-13T03:08:04Z")
[And they’re supposed to work better than current cells.](http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1105319242587_49?hub=SciTech) > [@](#): > > Researchers at the University of Toronto have invented an infrared-sensitive material that’s five times more efficient at turning the sun’s power into electrical energy than current methods. > > The discovery could lead to shirts and sweaters capable of recharging our cellphones and other wireless devices, said Ted Sargent, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the university. > > Sargent and other researchers combined specially-designed minute particles called quantum dots, three to four nanometres across, with a polymer to make a plastic that can detect energy in the infrared. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484/2 "2005-01-13T04:28:32Z")
How the heck do you clean it? ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484/3 "2005-01-13T04:30:21Z")
Actually, [it’s been done.](http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/solar_finetex_system.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484/4 "2005-01-13T04:30:50Z")
> [@mike1dog](#): > > How the heck do you clean it? Obviously, you’d wash them in a sunshower! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484/5 "2005-01-13T16:00:51Z")
On the one hand, it is cool to not have to worry about powering your various devices as long as there’s sunshine. On the other, how stupid are you going to look with a bunch of cords plugged into your shirt? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484/6 "2005-01-13T16:18:09Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > On the one hand, it is cool to not have to worry about powering your various devices as long as there’s sunshine. > > On the other, how stupid are you going to look with a bunch of cords plugged into your shirt? You use an inside pocket for the gizmos. Cord don’t show. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484/7 "2005-01-13T16:27:41Z")
The real exciting part, of course, is if this stuff is “five times more efficient” at converting the sun’s rays to electricity than current solar cells, then perhaps solar power plants could be feasible. And what about cars? I can hardly wait until the next “solar powered car” competition! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484/8 "2005-01-13T23:56:38Z")
You know, you could combine this shirt with a mini-Mac, a headset monitor, a mini trackball, and [this keyboard](http://www.canesta.com/products.htm),and you’d be an uberdork! (Or proto-Borg, depending upon your view. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484/9 "2005-01-14T19:21:43Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > You know, you could combine this shirt with a mini-Mac, a headset monitor, a mini trackball, and [this keyboard](http://www.canesta.com/products.htm),and you’d be an uberdork! (Or proto-Borg, depending upon your view. 😉 ) You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for some of these idiots to come up with that idea. Biggest power drain in a modern laptop? The display. So you take that away, add in the gadgets that you listed, and you have a small compact box that you can leave under your seat while you use the interfaces to do your work. Add in some blue tooth communications to get rid of a few wires, and then you have something worth marketing. _sigh_…alas, I’m not in the R&D department for HP or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-solar-cells-let-your-shirt-charge-your-phone/284484/10 "2005-01-14T20:02:58Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > On the one hand, it is cool to not have to worry about powering your various devices as long as there’s sunshine. Damn.