Infra-red solar panels?

Question

I am told there are night vision goggles to see at night due to invisible light still hitting earth. I am also told that there are other beams, x-rays etc hitting earth.

Why couldn't they invent a solar panel with dual power in the day?
It could harness both visible and invisible light, and at night be single?

Anyone know why they can't make an invisible light solar panel?

Is this possible?

What happens if future cars have night vision windshields instead of lights?

Answer 1

They are actually working on building photovoltaic panels (Photovoltaic is actually the correct term for sunlight-->electricity. Ordinary solar panels are those that use sunlight to heat water) that harness a larger range of wavelengths. From what I can gather the problem is either finding a material that absorbs more wavelengths, or finding a way to get multiple materials to coexist in a single panel. This situation will no doubt improve over time as new things like Nanotechnology give us the ability to create much more complex substances designed at the molecular level for light capture.

Panels that can harness a wider range of the spectrum do exist, but the technology is in its infancy, and therefore expensive and not widely known. This isn't too surprising when you consider that Photovoltaic technology itself hasn't been in the mainstream all that long.

I am a bit doubtful of photovoltaics that work at night, for the simple reason that at night there is less of *every* kind of energy falling on earth. Less visible light, infrared, etc. Infrared just happens to be particularly good at giving away hot objects, which is how Night Vision goggles work.

For the same reason, a night vision windshield might be a very useful tool, but it would still have difficulty picking out colder objects, and those that reflected less infrared light. In other words, you might see cars and pedestrians, but you could easily miss the upcoming embankment 0.o .

Answer 2

Solar panels work when the metals from which they are made release electrons when hit by radiation. There is a threshold that, below a certain wavelength/frequency, they do not eject electrons. As frequency increases, more electricity flows. Radio and infrared are the least energetic electromagnetic waves.

Answer 3

Build Home Solar Power - http://SolarPower.duebq.com/?YIw

Answer 4

No night vision takes star light and intensifies it by 30,000 times.