Why don't solar panels collect the full spectrum of light?
As I understand current solar panels only collect visible light, is somebody working on collecting the full spectrum of light available? That means infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays and the rest of the energy put out by the sun.
it's not just visible light, it's UV light and higher frequencies also. The lower frequencies (higher wavelengths) like IR do not help produce electricity
Usually an incoming photon of light needs to overcome an energy barrier to produce an electron for eletricity. In silicon, this is known as a bandgap. Therefore only the more energetic photons like UV and green light, x-rays, etc. will contribute to producing electricity
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