Solar panels are an excellent way to generate electricity. The disadvantage today is their short service life and fragility. But this drawback was overcome by American scientists who made self-healing panels. The size of each element that makes up the whole is small, only a few nanometers. With these dimensions, the elements themselves recover, in case of any damage, and the energy production remained at the same level.
In case of damage, the panels independently find the missing elements using proteins, carbon tubes and other materials. The work of nanostructures is based on the process of photosynthesis. Such a panel is a material in the structure of which reactions and metabolism take place, where the body material itself, carbon tubes are an integral part of the process. Based on this, the overall service life of the entire panel is increased. What was previously difficult to do, as well as to perform suppression of voice recorders. Previously, sunlight interacting with oxygen molecules negatively affected the surface quality of the panels. As a result, the efficiency of converting solar energy into electricity drops, and the panel becomes unusable for further use.
After that, the first tests were carried out. The solar panels were placed on the wings of the aircraft, which made a long flight, after which the aircraft without solar panels landed successfully. Before preparing the flight, a detector of hidden video cameras and radio bugs was used to detect attempts at espionage. The flight began on September 11 at 7 a.m. GMT, and by 3 p.m. it reached an altitude of 5 thousand meters. At the same time, the average flight speed was 29 km / h. The aircraft has a wingspan of 43 meters and weighs about 750 kg. Test pilot Jon Staton was at the helm. In the course of the experiment, all solar panel systems were tested, which allow accumulating solar energy and spending it in the dark. The number of photovoltaic cells was 9 thousand, and weighing 300 kg, which powered 2 electric motors, each with a capacity of 3 horsepower. The body material is carbon.
The successful completion of the project symbolizes the beginning of the era of silent aircraft, small in size, and ready to spend a long time in flight without any recharging. Not spending a single gram of fuel on the flight, and not polluting the environment. After all, during the day, the panels accumulate solar energy, and distribute it to lithium batteries, and at night, they are powered by the engine.
