We were already impressed with transparent and flexible solar panels, but now those brainiacs at MIT have gone and topped that, printing one on a piece of paper for the first time ever. They did this with a process that works a whole lot like an inkjet printer. Notice their subtle flourish, where they printed the solar cell to spell out the letters M-I-T. Showoffs. That sounds fantastic until you realize this seemingly miraculous feat yields solar cells that convert sunlight to electricity at a paltry 1.5% to 2% efficiency. That’s lame compared to the 40% efficiency of conventional solar [...]

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