PV Gap

Dwayne Said:

How much do edge chips on a solar cell reduce its maximum amperage?

We Answered:

If the conductors in or to or from the cell are broken, it will reduce amps by one cell's worth. If possible, measure the output of the individual cell before connecting it. I don't know enough about the details to know for sure but your math suggests you are not building a 100 W panel, you are building a 88 W panel. As far as affecting your output too much, that depends on what you are doing with the output. As you probably know, something rated for 20 volts will operate at 20 +/- some number of volts. How much +/- depends on the details. sounds like a good project! Good luck

Harold Said:

If small solar powered robots could build copies of themselves, would they slowly evolve?

We Answered:

Evolving robots? Self-replication? Maybe you're looking for something like this:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hod_l…

To answer your question specifically, our technology is still lagging to experiment on what you specifically want to do. Perhaps you should read about the Technological Singularity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technologic…

Laurie Said:

how are solar cells built?

We Answered:

The most common material used in solar cells is single crystal silicon. Solar cells made from single crystal silicon are currently limited to about 25% efficiency because they are most sensitive to infrared light, and radiation in this region of the electromagnetic spectrum is relatively low in energy.