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The problem with solar powered animals is likely in storage, not with power generation. The Oriental Hornet has been found to harness solar rays, but it largel
by totalrobe 11y ago
The problem with solar powered animals is likely in storage, not with power generation.
The Oriental Hornet has been found to harness solar rays, but it largely active during the brightest hours of the day.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9254000/9254445.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9254000/925...
- mikeash 11y agoSurface area is a problem as well. Humans require something like 100W of energy when sedentary and more when active. At 10% conversion efficiency and with the sun providing useful energy 33% of the time, you'd need at least 3 square meters of collector area. Which of course is why we outsource our collector area to plants. That solves the storage problem too. Animals are solar powered, just indirectly.