Solar Revolution

It will be interesting to see how versatile and inexpensive the materials mentioned in your article "Solar-Cell Rollout" (TR July/August 2004) can become. Assuming that the technology seamlessly replaces outdated and less valuable building materials, anybody could be a power-generating entity. The social implications are huge. Energy would be cheap. However, if this technology were to find its niche quickly, it could raise other problems. Given the potential toxicity of fullerenes and other nanoparticles to animals and humans, will these new solar cells be another environmental pollutantthe asbestos of the future? Once again, technology enables, but what exactly it enables is the million-dollar question.

Brandon Todd
Wheaton, IL