[rikkipitt]

Reminds me of my masters research at university. My work was based on hybrid organic-inorganic solar devices based on boron subphthalocyanine chloride and an optimised optical spacer layer. One day, one variation of the type of cell I was producing was over double the output efficiency of what we usually expected. Was exciting until we realised the solar testing rig had been erroneously set to the equivalent output of two suns...

[renrutal]

> set to the equivalent output of two suns...

I didn't realize we have achieved a Kardashev Type II civilization already :)

[nine_k]

Achieving the effect locally for a few milliseconds has been possible for like 70 years now.

Damn hard to get a license for that nowadays, though, no matter how important your science is.

[rjbwork]

Is...this a nuclear explosion joke?

[TeMPOraL]

That would be a... double-whoosh?

http://wordpress.mrreid.org/2015/04/18/the-nuclear-double-fl...

[rikkipitt]

Haha, very good.

In fact, we had some equipment similar to that on this site https://solarlight.com/product_category/products/solar-simul...

Basically a super bright light source with a similar spectral output to our sun. A roughly 1x1cm solar cell in a nitrogen filled chamber is wired up to check the output under the incident light. Very cool production process. I was extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to help with the research.

[atonse]

One day… two suns. Talk about playing God. :-)

That sounds like fascinating research.

[dylan604]

I mean, do we really need Jupiter as is? Everything Jupiter has done for us with clearing out the trash from the solar system would have been done by a 2nd smaller sun as well.

[RobertoG]

Here we are, trying to improve solar cells to avoid global warming, and dissidents like you want to add a sun to the solar system.

[dylan604]

It's not the solar system's fault that the inhabitants of one of the bodies in the system are bad stewards.

Also, if you have 30% effeciency from the light of one sun, wouldn't the additional light also improve the solar cell since there is now more light to get 30% out of? I mean, more is always better, right?

[stacks_on_stack]

I know your comment is in jest, but in point of fact the additional heat from another star would almost certainly reduce the efficiency of the panels.

[edgyquant]

Can you explain why?

[edgyquant]

It'd be twice (>1<2) the energy

[skinkestek]

And I thought we were supposed to reduce global warming ;-)

[ehsankia]

There's something hilarious in adding a sun so you can improve the efficiency of your solar panels, so that you can switch to renewable energy and offset warming caused by your current single sun (and polution).