Human efforts to convert sunlight to usable energy run a poor second to what vegetation can do, but we continue to chip away at our inefficacy.
At the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, physicist Kristjan Kunnus will give a free talk on the use of high-intensity X-rays to study the effect of sunlight on unreactive materials drafted into a potential role as solar cells after being covered with a thin layer of sunlight-absorbing dye.
The talk, "Catching Light: Making the Most of Solar Energy," is set for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug 2, in Panofsky Auditorium in Building 53 at 2575 Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park. Seating is first come, first served.