*IF* the hypothesis is correct that electrons are coming off, and *IF* collecting them is easy, there's a big question:

How much electricity do you generate per unit area?

From the article, the answer appears to be "very little." If you need 100 m^2 of graphene to generate the same power as 5m^2 of silicon cells, it starts looking a lot less attractive. Putting them on your roof would be pretty pointless, for example.

On Tue, Jun 2, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Bruce Johnson <johnson@pharmacy.arizona.edu> wrote:
Graphene makes great solar sail material.

<http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22630235.400-spacecraft-built-from-graphene-could-run-on-nothing-but-sunlight.html#.VW4WEmDaiPx>

More mundanely, ‘Neat stuff that absorbs sunlight and spits out electrons’ is also known as ‘a solar cell’. I think these folks are missing a huge possibility here by focusing on propulsion. Graphene is cheap to make. REAL cheap. MUCH cheaper than silicon solar cells.

--
Bruce Johnson
University of Arizona
College of Pharmacy
Information Technology Group

Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs

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