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AzulCrescent
Public

lil tidbit about Solar

Not a funni comic and a bit nerdy, but i wanted to write about something that i find cool lol.

@AzulCrescent There's also a fun thing where LEDs and solar panels are fundamentally the same object, so you can use an LED as a (really crappy) solar panel, and you can use a solar panel as an LED (once)!

AzulCrescent
Public

@thepi LMAO at the once ahahha

Robot
Public

@thepi @AzulCrescent you actually can use solar panels as LEDs for a longer period of time if you drive them sanely, they just output in infrared instead of the visible spectrum.

yes this means you can (well, could, theoretically) make a tv/aircon remote out of one

Julie
Public
@robot @thepi @AzulCrescent I was just wondering about this, kinda sad they don't output visible light, although the infrared thing is also really cool
RealGene ☣️
Public

@robot @thepi @AzulCrescent
In northern climes, it means you can melt the snow from your panels.

Julie
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@thepi @AzulCrescent That is so cool! Reminds me of the way microphones and speakers are also the same thing, just optimised differently
Julie
Public
@thepi @AzulCrescent WAIT does that mean solar panels can just... glow?? Like, you could use solar paneled roofs as a massive (low pixel) display?
Popstar Tourist
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@Julleee @AzulCrescent @thepi How long until we see Bad Apple on one of the large solar farms :)

Eragon
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@thepi That's exactly how the BBC:Micro Bit can detect light, just use the LEDs as solar panel. It was mind-blowing when I first saw it.

@AzulCrescent
Thepi
Public

@eragon @AzulCrescent I can't believe there's a practical use for that. That's awesome!

T0╳F03Æ                       
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@thepi @AzulCrescent that's actually my favorite bit of trivia about solar panels :)

H3
Quiet public

@thepi
If you are a bit more gentle, you can run a bit of current through a solar panel and look at it with an IR camera. If parts of it dont light up, there is a fracture in the crystal and that part won't generate power either.
@AzulCrescent