chemistry

Polarizing organic photovoltaics

Polarizing organic photovoltaics is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Polarizing organic photovoltaics rather than just read about it. In short: Polarizing organic photovoltaics (ZOPV) is a concept for harvesting energy from Liquid crystal display screens, developed by engineers from UCLA. This concept enables devices to use external light and the LCD screen's backlight using photovoltaic polarizers.

Key takeaways

Polarizing organic photovoltaics belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Polarizing organic photovoltaics to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Polarizing organic photovoltaics from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Polarizing organic photovoltaics (ZOPV) is a concept for harvesting energy from Liquid crystal display screens, developed by engineers from UCLA. This concept enables devices to use external light and the LCD screen's backlight using photovoltaic polarizers. Photovoltaic polarizers convert this light into electricity which can be used to power the device. This concept also provides multifunctional capability to devices with LCD screens as they act as photovoltaic devices and as polarisers.

Background

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals (LCs). LCs do not emit light directly. They are used in a wide range of applications, including computer monitors, television, instrument panels, laptops tablet computers etc. They are common in consumer devices such as video players, gaming devices, clocks, watches, calculators, and telephones.

Operation Up to three-fourths of the light energy wasted from LCD backlight illumination can be retrieved and used using polarizing organic photovoltaics. They can use external light energy also apart from backlight illumination using photovoltaic polarizers, which are present within the structure of the LCD screen.

Advantages 80% to 90% of the total energy used by any device with an LCD screen is used up by the backlight illumination. As polarizing organic photovoltaics can recycle up to 75% of wasted light energy, the efficiency of the device is increased.

Disadvantages This simply incorporates additional conversion efficiency losses. These devices harvest their own light. The article cited above, "Photovoltaics Could Charge A Phone Using Its Own Backlight" is bogus and makes claims that would violate the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics if true. Such a device thus could not be patented and commercialized. See also: Perpetual Motion Machine

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Polarizing organic photovoltaics

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Polarizing organic photovoltaics claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Polarizing organic photovoltaics before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Polarizing organic photovoltaics ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Polarizing organic photovoltaics

In research: Polarizing organic photovoltaics appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Polarizing organic photovoltaics in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Polarizing organic photovoltaics is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Photovoltaics, Solar cells, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Polarizing organic photovoltaics outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Polarizing organic photovoltaics in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Polarizing organic photovoltaics means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Polarizing organic photovoltaics out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Polarizing organic photovoltaics in simple terms?

Why does Polarizing organic photovoltaics matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Polarizing organic photovoltaics?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Polarizing organic photovoltaics.