A Delicious New Solar Cell Technology

[PhilipMitchellGraham]

Most face creams have Ti02

Good artist supply shops should have Ti02 in pure powdered form.

[Rjo8976]

How long this will work,

durability of 1 cell...?

[lois228gmail]

When I watch McGyver, it appears he works much faster than this, and he doesn't always have the option of electricity. I remember him sticking electrical wires into two separate pieces of potato to run his clock.

[AnonymousXIII]

lol, love the name... like the experiment too

[JakeXVX]

Where do you get ITO glass? How expensive is it?

[ConnorXV]

@ABEscobia like any (existing) solar panel, basically when a semiconductor absorbs a photon, this will excite a loosely bound electron and cause it to flow and generally they will flow towards another material which has a lack of electrons, this simply draws electrons from further up the circuit to fill in its place causing current to flow, there must be a circtuit or it wont flow. It will charge batteries like any other current source really. did i help answer your queestion?

[ohgeeitsph4rrah]

SO wanna try this! you guys are awesome for doing it. good luck on the acs comp =D

[jamezo97]

I am trying to make this, but I am improvising a lot at the moment. I don't have any ethanol, nor am I allowed to buy some. I don't have the tea, or the doughnuts. But what I do have is M&M's(their shells contain titanium dioxide), some coffee filters, and a high heat lamp.

So far I have got a nice coating of titanium dioxide on a piece of glass. Now all I need is some raspberry juice, to sensitise the TI02

[jamezo97]

Very nice, i'm gonna try it.

Turn on "Transcribe Audio" and go to 0:51 seconds. "tears of this stuff called taking you backside in the powder howard" Very random...

[itchysp0t]

astonishing :D

[888pepita]

very very enjoyable, thank you so much!

question: in the absence of easily available conducting glass, what would you suggest using instead? a thin metal strip? a glass slide covered in aluminium foil?

also, is the conducting glass you use all-around conducting or is it just a surface phenomenon? (is the doping pervasive or just a coat?)

thank you again!!

[encodion]

i like thermo-electric cells, lot easier to make, way less money. or if there is movement involved, magneto-hydro-dynamic generators work too, especially with fast moving magnetized plasma.

ton of heat + thermo-electric + magneto-hydro-dynamic + nano (or at least mini, micro is ok too) cell structure = tomorrow i will take over the world and ban donuts.

muhaha.

[menashadude]

Very clever!!!

[natester632]

How many volts does that little thing give off???

[ophuichus2012]

erm, there is titanium dioxide in my sunscreen, whats that doing to my skin?

[MrKyja72]

*Sigh* If only Douglas N, Adams wise still alive today to see this video. He would truly see the hilarious yet ironically true science to this.

[Riokushinaku]

Hey caudex, I was wondering, I can find Ti02 on ebay in bulk. It is pure Ti02 for very cheap. Would I be able to buy that and use it in the same manner you did here? Also, just that little tiny cell produced .5v? I have seen commercial cells that are about 6'' long and 4'' wide that can only produce .5v. How can this very small piece produce as much as one that is much larger? I really love science and would love to do this at home and make a business off of it to make money.

[caudex43]

@Riokushinaku

Short answer: No. Longer answer: Potential is not area dependent, current is. Multiply area by ten, voltage stays the same while current gets multiplied by 10 (theoretically). This is not an economically viable way to make solar cells, and most definitely not a marketable product. Sorry. Longer answer sent via private message.

[MrEnergyCzar]

Great video...I converted my home to a net-zero solar powered home that uses no oil or gas...I made a video about it called, "Preparing for Peak Oil"....

[publicz]

Donuts... Is There Nothing They Can't Do..?

[jlatif09]

who's your friend? Dr. Fus?

[retalswerdna]

@jlatif09 not sure what you're talking about...;

[TheTruthSg]

is it me or this guy reminds me of Brendan Fraser (the guy in The Mummy films)

[rerikweigand]

can't you just use powdered sugar?

[ecobaja]

Does anyone know how long you are supposed to fire the TIO2 powder in the oven?

[doogleface]

45 minutes to an hour should do.. just long enough to burn off the organics

[MaLcH10R]

YOu can do anything whe you say its for SCIENCE!

[FDDT360]

Doubt: If I get "pure" TiO2 (buying it, not getting it out of the donuts) I still need to do the first 4 steps? Thanks and awesome work!! :D

[OrionCA1]

Shouldn't he be wearing a bra on his head?

SCIENCE!!!!

[Budfester]

Great summation with Homer Simpson. Hilarious video.

[ddnjolly]

nice. guess I'll try this one. but, TiO2... hmm here there are no such kind of cakes by the way. and that indian boy thinks he can light his house with that thing. good luck

[2lurukamaz]

Wow, that's fantastic. Bill Nye would be proud.

[donttryit1]

Oh my god. I thought you were kidding about making a solar panel from a doughnut. How amazing.

[NametsGid]

ohh okay just wondering. can this maybe power some appliances like a blender or something? or only LEDs?

[caudex43]

indium doped tin oxide (ITO) glass

[NametsGid]

your glass is indian what coated?

[kookkjtoko]

i like it

[shinunojutsu]

About how long did it take for the sensitization process to take place? Mine's been going for at least 18 hours but I can't seem to get it nearly as dark as yours. Anyway, awesome video man!

[jsrosie13]

Hey i was really enjoyed watching your video and i was planning to follow your procedures. Im just not sure what type of filter that you used? and also by any chance do you know the size of the TIO2 in the powder? Thanks

[jaymelodius]

hey gsmestad, where can i get more info on diy (think u've got a typo) solar cells? does anyone know how to make a mini dc/ac inverter and a mini-tesla coil? if so, may the volts from the solar could be stepped up, maybe a mini-transformer? any ideas????

[gsmestad]

Great work! Did it win? Want the science behind the procedure? I've collected a lot of information on DYI solar cells made from simple materials. It's all FREE & in the public domain. Please add more links, text and info to the "more info." section of your You Tube pages.

[gsmestad]

What's next for this procedure? What more can be done to improve on it or learn from it?

[HoBo2Be]

Now I worry about eating the damn things. What does the receptors do to our cells?

[jaymelodius]

fourty-eighth

[tepidarium]

Hi guys, nice video and good editing.

Some time ago I was contemplating making my own sun screen lotion and I discovered that I can buy TiO2 bulk for about $12 per pound. (Much cheaper than doughnuts!)

Search for "titanium dioxide" in Google Shopping.

[worldismine69]

do you succed to make a solar panel

[JordanMaster22]

Goodbye, power grid!

[skemadix]

Has anyone actually tried this? When I filter it i get a lot of what looks like butter and fat in with the (supposed) TiO2. Then, of course, all the firing does is give a nice black ash.

[skemadix]

Never mind. I just had to wait longer. The black does eventually burn away.

[AnyaWerecat]

just goes to show that even the most seemingly complicated problems can oftentimes be solved in very simple and ingenious ways...

[duhCider]

As many lead pencils and donuts I ate as a child and as much vodka and Long Island Iced teas ingested as an adult, is it possible my digestive tract is solar powerable?

[ultimacy24]

Very cool video, everything seems simpe but where can one obtain conductive glass with indium tin oxide coating?

[PamellaFerris]

765-348-1282 Hartford Glass Co Inc.

PO Box 613, Hartford City, IN 47348

Precut commercial (2.5 cm x 2.5 cm) TEC 10 or TEC 15 (thats 10 or 15 ohms per square meter) Tin dioxide (SnO2) coated glass. Ask for Mike Reidy.

[steveneaster]

I just wanted to say I got in touch with Mr. Reidy to purchase a small quantity of glass for some experiments and he was EXTREMELY helpful. If you're looking for glass like I was, don't waste time, just call this guy.

[RealityDetective]

Make LARGE ones.... And many of them, and wire them together! CriticalunityDOTorg!

[lurukamaz2]

Yeah, this guy's pretty much a genius

[ghostaliaz]

This is so cool! This guy is smart. I like new ideas/free thinking. We will soon be able to make solar cell siding to go on our homes for cheap.

[supressorgrid]

Dupont in New johnsonville Tn. make titanium dioxide by the ton, You could talk them out of the stuff that spills all over the ware house floor and the floors of the delivery trailers as the supersacks they use leak badly.Hell the stuff is all over the place around there.

[rantingprophet]

would regular powdered sugar work?

like the stuff in the box not the donut

[caudex43]

So long as there is Titanium dioxide listed in the ingredients this method should work to some degree.

We havent tried just regular powdered sugar though, seems likely it would work.

[frankmknight]

Sweet video young Bro'! Heh heh... thanks for the awesome lesson!

Peace,

Frank

[soapyzombies]

???

profit

[ModaDiMagno]

You frighten me, and yet I am amused. Bravo sir, I give you and A+++

[mibars]

What's the voltage of this cell? :)

[caudex43]

On the order of 0.5V

[david18861886]

@caudex43 with a hefty .04amps giving you what .02watts?... :D

[moniker127]

I love videos like this. That was very interesting.

[Chronox5]

Wow a funny intelligent video that is fairly understandable. Great job!

[afrand1361]

That is nice, but there is a point:

If they are incorporating TiO2 in Donuts, and we buy donuts, so we are actually paying for the added value of TiO2 in donuts, too.

So why can't we just by TiO2 from a chemical company and do the same thing you did in the video with that with no pain of heating and ashing it??

That be would definitely cheaper and more efficient. Why from donuts?? Just to make it more attractive or what?

I enjoyed it though.

[nebm84]

Yeah, we generally get TiO2 on its own. The point of this video was to show that you can get the materials you need from every day items. That's all.

[the1intellect]

Great vid! Thanks!

I'm excited about it. Now that the means is available to everyone, people not directly involved in the field of solar energy can help improve it. Having this out there to the general public means that any one of us around the world could make that one discovery that revolutionizes solar technology and changes the world. Most of our greatest discoveries were, after all, mistakes. :-)

[Sodabowski]

Oh man, what a laugh! By the way this insanely funny video is really serious stuff. Many thanks! =) Now off to the Starbuck's =D

[CYP2E1]

You can find TiO2 in sunscreen lotion too! 3,6% that is in my ombrelle 45...

You guys deserve an award, this is pure genious :)

[JetCityOrange]

Stone cold, DIY homebrew, ghettolicious hack-a-zoid! What a scream.

I especially appreciate the science behind the process.

May I humbly suggest a sequel done after a trip to the art store to purchase a tube of white paint. The ROI would be considerably better.

THEN you can put the thingie on a meter and show us the juice. I want numbers. Data, more data...

[Spenkster]

Unbelievable .. that TiO2 is in the donuts... I thought it was poisonous...wait a minute.. o that was the not oxidized kind.. Ti. that is. Still a bit strange to have it in there ( I always thought there was only organic stuff used like sugar powder).

But really.. science at its best..! Keep it up!

[secretorganisation]

wtf...

mikro/piko ampere??

tell me what that crap shit amount of current gonna do?

bottom line is,the normal solar cell are 1000000 times effective than this

this is kids experiment...the same as using fruit to produce electric

[itwillbealright]

Calm down, it's obvious.

[gburkhard]

also, you have to take into account the area of the cell. It looked like he was getting 4mA of current in the sun (4000uA) for a device that was maybe 1cm^2. That's really not that bad considering with a Si cell, you might get about 5 times that amount.

[shoishk]

You missed the decimal point. It's 40ua. You'de need around 300 square metres to Power a 60watt Light Bulb.

[RetardRage99]

jesus dude, it's just for fun

they don't really think they solved the energy crisis....

[luisvuofh]

Donuts or Solar Power WTF! Thats a no brainer Donuts of course

[luisvuofh]

Nooooooooo you bastard what have the donuts done to you.

[TheCuteWoofer]

Sweet! Informative and highly amusing. Five stars!

[UFOMAN618]

TiO is cheap... wtf

[sleeeeee6]

TiO is highly unstable. let me know where you get it cheap. I'm pretty sure this is only for the cool factor.

[swamindu]

TiO2 is highly stable. That's why it is used in paints, cosmetics and in food products.

[ReploidZer0]

lo and behold the point is missed entirely

[avatargrs]

sooooo lag

[b0mm32]

Excellent video. Think I might try this myself.

Is there anything donuts can't do?

[Jilad49]

Very creative. I'm working on TiO2 films as well, although so far I have yet to make anything from donuts =(

[lurukamaz2]

I totally called the "oh, hello there" :P

[swamindu]

Superb! Great teaching tool !!

[caudex43]

I'm glad you appreciated it! Please feel free to share with your friends and associates. Expect more from this project in the near future.

[damonaboud]

Science at its best.

[davehiker]

First!!