A UCLA professor of materials science and engineering is researching a new technology that could make cell phone display screens act as solar panels.
As reported in the Daily Bruin, energy wasted in generating the power for a cell phone’s backlight can instead be recycled. Sunlight can also be captured and used, giving a longer battery life.
The most obvious benefit is a longer battery life, saving you hundreds of dollars. Yet with the explosion of e-waste in recent decades, any technology that increases the shelf-life of electronics could be a major win on multiple fronts. Keeping e-waste out of landfills means less harmful chemicals polluting areas nearby, protecting the natural environment in addition to saving hundreds of thousands from cancer and birth defects caused by exposure to these harmful substances.
And of course, a longer battery life means less material and resources being used to make more batteries and cell phones, reducing the amount of greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere, and that’s something everyone can be excited about.
With the heavy blows UCLA is taking financially, we can hope that this research survives the recent round of budget cuts and lives to be incorporated into everyday technology soon.
