Solar recharging devices aren't exactly new, but they're definitely becoming more common. There are solar charging cases for your iPad and for your iPhone, and even a DIY solar-powered lawnmower. But what if a device that creates light could recycle that light to power itself? That rather mind-bending idea is exactly what engineers at UCLA have created the technology to do.

The idea involves equipping devices that have LCD screens with photovoltaic polarizers that capture and convert ambient light into electricity. That ambient light could come from the sun, from indoor light sources, and even from the backlight of the device's own display. Current LCD technology is very inefficient, with the backlight consuming 80-90% of the device's power but losing 75% of the created light to the polarizers. The technology developed by the UCLA engineers recovers much of that energy and puts it right back into the device.

While the new technology is still somewhat experimental, the engineers say that the coating technique is simple and easy to apply in manufacturing processes. They hope to work with electronic manufacturers to integrate the new methods into mainstream technology production in the near future.

[Image credit: Rick Willoughby]

UCLA via Engadget

Post by Katherine Gray

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