Nepalese Teen Invents Cheap Solar Panel Using Human Hair

Inspired by Stephen HawkingStephen Hawking's discussion of ways to make static electricity from hair, Milan Karki, 18, of rural Nepal, believes he has found the solution to the developing world's energy needs, saying hair (due to Melanin) is easy to use as a conductor, in place of expensive silicon. The £23 solar panel produces 18 Watts.

Adapted from a report in the UK's Daily Mail.


18-year old Inventor, Milan Karki, from rural Nepal, has come up with a new type of solar panel that uses human hair, a design he thinks could provide the developing world with cheap, green electricity. He has built several prototypes. Once manufactured, he thinks these panels could be half the cost of the cheapest solar panels now available.

Inspired by Stephen Hawking's discussion of ways to make static electricity from hair, Karki, theorizes that the Melanin (a play on his name?) in the hair enables it to act as a conductor, in place of expensive silicon. Melanin, a pigment that gives hair its colour, is light sensitive and also acts as a type of conductor.

His panel, which produces 18 Watts (9 volts at 2 amps), uses £23 in materials. The solar panel can charge a mobile phone or a pack of batteries capable of providing light all evening. Karki points out that half a kilo of hair can be bought for only 16p in Nepal and lasts a few months, whereas a pack of batteries would cost 50p and last a few nights; and that people can replace the hair easily themselves, so his solar panels need little servicing.