From Simon Sellick
James Mitchell Crow’s article about thermoelectric solar panels mentioned that photovoltaic (PV) materials respond to only a narrow spectrum of frequencies, the remainder being either too feeble to trigger the photoelectric effect or too energetic and a hindrance (26 November, p 38).
Might the yield be improved by using a trick similar to that in fluorescent lighting, where ultraviolet light is converted to visible light? The conventional solar panel could be coated with a material that absorbs a wide spectrum and fluoresces at the optimal frequency for the PV material, thus harvesting more of the available energy and avoiding the disruption caused by high-energy photons. If a coating is not feasible, perhaps a reflector to direct light towards the panel could work.
Ashton under Hill, Worcestershire, UK
