1829 Making Solar Cells From Old CDs 

Thank God I saw this video before I started experimenting with c.d.s!! Thanks Robert, you saved alot of people from wasting alot of time.

Got an idea: cover a parabolic dome with CDs, then have them focus on a tank containing water, then have the water evaporate and activate a turbine, there you go...solar power from CDs! 🙂

Thank you for saving me from ruining all my parent's old soap operas.

I use old CDs for bird scaring devices, works a treat.

Best use I have ever gotten out of old AOL CDs was to hang them in the trees around my garden to keep the birds out.

I do not think you will ever be able to stop misleading videos (I am being kind) but as long as people like yourself are pointing out the facts we will have a chance. Thank you. 👍🐝🌞

Thank you for making this video !! I saw one of these videos the other week and thought “there is no way that a CD can be used for solar like that”

It is great to have this kind of video in this media where people would gladly believe something they saw once and not question the science behind why or why not it would work the way they are shown. Thank you for explaining to us.

Amazing videos.. easily among the best content in the whole internet

I clicked on this video because I was real excited to learn what I saw people doing a few years back. They powered their whole property on home made CD Solar panels. And they worked great. Bummer to see you just made this video to say they don’t.

we will all be watching your videos Robert you have a great community built up around your channels. thank you for all your hard work and putting this type of content out there. 👍👍

I remember one of the other videos argued that regular cds won't work. They said it required writable dvds because those contain silicon. The regular cds and DVDs that aren't purple, are plastic mass replicated products which are pressed, not burned. Silicon was argued to be the "game changer"

I went through the better part of the video hoping to hear something along the line of "But here is how you can harness the power of the sun using nothing more than common table salt, some copper pipe, and these 497 CDs"

It is truly amazing how well these "gag" videos actually work as a pay off.

I just saved 2 weeks, 17 liters of coffee,2 packs of calming meds and my faith in humanity, just by watching this video! Thank you so very much! Much appreciated!

Thankyou Robert, it's most elevating to hear the truth and to expose the scammers, there's so much lying junk on RU-vid these days. Keep up the good work.

I like your final words, how it's not stupidity. Strikes home, because when I saw the title and was not yet aware that it's a debunking video - even if that was at the back of my head - I was really excited for a second about such a simple solution to the problem that we've got, as you put it. Thanks for being a stand-up guy.

Ah, the voice of reason! I was gulled by one of those scamvids and was tempted to try this for myself. You just saved me all sorts of time and grief. Thank you so much!

Thanks a lot from Turkiye MR. Robert. and Thank god there are honest Real Science man people like you on youtube.This channel deserve views more than millions.🙏💯

You crack me up, I love to watch your projects and inventions. You bring so much fun to it all. :)

Your fun to watch. Very charismatic and informative. Enjoy your channel alot.

Thank you much Rob ! I was waiting something like this .

Your expose’ is appreciated…thank you.

Thank you for clearing this up. Your videos are one of my face checks go to. Keep up the good work

I was actually looking for one of those cd videos to try and understand how they work, glad I found this video, still going to try some of the other DiY options for solar though, just enough to charge batteries.

Have not seen those clips but your the Man ,thanks !

Thank you for your youtube videos. And seeing someone that seems to love life and the real mysteries it holds.

You don't need 1million views Robert - it's quality not quantity that counts. Your videos are quality and that's what serious viewers want. Let the sheep see the scammers and you continue to give us serious students of all sciences the quality videos we need and love. The added bonus is that your videos are also highly entertaining. Well done.

I'm very happy you're addressing this scheme and exposing the very basics of why some shiny, glittery plastic and aluminum isn't going to begin magically pumping out power... Other than the power of fantasy.. which would probably stand more of a chance towards an aha idea going through just the right mind at the right time. Thanks 👍

glad to see someone who is producing factual, useful information regardless of view count

The fun fact is that it will work as rectenna / LEctenna if you have germanium diode on it ;D It doesn't produce much, unless you live near transmitter, or have your own transmitter. The CD has nothing to do with it.

Why wouldn’t I watch your video and appreciate it? You saved me from being conned Thank you so much for saving my time sir..

It works if the Internet says it works. The Internet has such a great fidelity to facts that large numbers of people could never doubt it.

You could construct a parabolic reflector with old CDs to focus sunlight on to the energy convertor of your choice...

Glad you made this. I hope it really helps dismiss the junk.

Even with my limited knowledge of electric systems when I saw these types of videos I was nahhhhh that can't be real . Thank you for the insight

We just hang them all in our trees because if you string them together in a long line they make and amazing light show in the garden. Also our neighbour hates them and that is a bonus :)

thanks for opening our minds

About cd .. .. If you have a CD player and do no longer need it, you can take out the ejection system. Thing is: if you put an LED (or two in reverse) on the motor and operate the eject mechanism (open, close, open, close), the leds will light up. And yes, there is another motor in the middle, but you will need to spin it a bit faster. The nice thing of the eject system is that it has gearing in it (See Rob's previous video about making your own, 1 to 128 ration). The CDrom can be used to create a capacitor, not very spectacular. The best use I know of for a CD is in the garden, hanging (dangling) from a rope, to scare birds away.

To support your message, I just read all the comments and upvoted all the positive ones. Hope it helps and thanks for the truth.

Come on, let's hit that 10 million+ Robert! 💎📀💿

the Best comment under a video from "King Homemade" was that: "I found that using older vynal records work a lot better. The black surface absorbs more of the suns rays producing much higher voltage output. Also, if you run the current backwards through the record, you can get what is called a "black light" effect." i like that kind of humor 🤣

Thanks, Robert! Look forward to your future videos.

Good thing I watch this. Initially I thought you had lost your mind. Good Stuff Boss 🤝🍻

It's amazing how many suckers are out there. You can use clear lens LED's in this configuration and read a small voltage but it would take literally millions of them to make any usable power. They incorporate non--reversing diodes in REAL solar panels to keep storage battery power from from backing up into the panels at night discharging them. If this happens, the solar panel will emit light in the infrared spectrum. LED's work basically the same way but with visible light.

Thanks for doing that Robert.

Thank you for this!

Ahh RU-vid... "If you can figure out how the sexy female scientist makes solar cells out of CD's, you're a genius!" There's a sucker born every minute (P.T. Barnum) 🤣

Thank you for explaining this!

Thank you for very good advice.

Nice video, glad you made this Rob as I've been wondering why all these videos had been coming up last couple years.. 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

These things remind me of the Barnum and Bailey quote: "A sucker is born every minute."

I did sucessfully harness the energy from the sun using a few hundred old CDs, suspended with old monofilament fishing line into an excellent, reflective bird deterrent around my garden.

Bravo........I tried one and didn't work to.......I didn't expect it to.......great experience and experiment......the prism is worth more.......explain ...diopolar plastic and alum......cheers

ok, maybe wanted to think i could save the world with some cds im not using anymore...didnt try it but thank you mister for the slap in the face, really appreciated

I thought it was to good to be true or that simple. Thank you for confirming my suspicions.

Simple solar cell can be built using copper cladboard .

I wonder if you can build one of those solar heating panels that people make with hoses in spiral shape, but use CDs at the base painted with black paint, so that it absorbs light but also the light that goes through the paint gets reflects by the CD back into the paint, allowing for higher effeciency.

Thanks as ever. Amazing how bunkum spreads. The central hole might provide good adjustment for concaveness if the cds were deployed in a parabolic reflector and focused on a heat exchange device ?

Thank you for debunking this modern myth. The array of CD discs glued onto a surface, however, did spark an idea that old discs may have a use for making a fairly efficient solar reflector as compared to using ordinary aluminum foil.

Thank you for your logic Sir

i lived in a block of flats and we were plagued by pigeons old cd's make excellent bird scarers - drill a hole on the edge and clip a fishing swivel to it, a few of these strung along a wire will keep the birds away from your seeds as they spin in the wind

Thanks a lot this clears all the errors

Debunk them all ! This and the lecture of the "Skeptical" saves a lot of effort for the lazy maker.

Thank you for setting us straight.

Thank you!!🙏

Well I saw it, liked it and will be linking it on all those other videos

In the one I watched, the guy twisted many wire ends together but forgot to hide that he hadn't removed wire insulation. Bare footed in a lush marshy field he risked electrocution from the kilo-volts output from those connected100 cd's.

You appear to be the most professional, trustworthy and with a natural passion for basic Physics/Science, so very sad that this is minority in mainstream education. There is lack of awareness that the simple ability to to inspire learning in children and students of all ages is THE IMPERATIVE. Do you think it's simpler to buy inexpensive solar panels than attempting to make one with old cd.s,I too thought why are they missing the most important simple point about connecting? Any bit of solid plastic in-between must for a perfect Non Cercuit, it seems like some kind of clicking con.Are people really so gullible, it never ceases to amaze.Thank you and keep up good and valuable work.

I really enjoy the way you dispel the fake video’s! 👍👍👍👍👍

I actually made one solar CD wrapped wire myself, just to try it. In the sun, it did produce about 3 volts, but not enough amps to speak of...it has to be in direct sunlight, or it won't work. It works, but not feasible due to it having little power output.

The best part about cds for solar cells is the battery they connect the meter to.

thanks for that saved me some time copper wire and cds always a plessure to watch real ideas

Remember Tesla Patent for receiving radiant energy? U.S. Patent No. 685,957 Maybe u could use those shiny CDs as top plate? But u would need to connect shiny surface to the wire. Tesla said that top plate should be metal covered with some insulating layer.

Thank you for your clear explanation. Why is it people fall for all the nonsense, rather than studying and having a basic understanding of engineering science. Children should be taught at school how to discriminate between fake and fact.

Great! Thank you for this video 👍

By wrapping wire around the CDs and sticking them in the air you will pick up radio frequency energy and if you run it through a diode you will see small amounts of voltage, a long way from a solar cell however.

Spot on and well explained but this video will never go viral because it goes against what people hope for when they look at a bunch of cd. These guys who get paid for misleading cd solar cell info will not stop as long as the money rolls in. Thank you for the blunt honesty.

Like all weeds... Pull them out one at a time. Another great vid. Thanks Rob 😎

Brilliant video, mate.

You could possibly buy a load of CDS from charity shops and sell them on eBay then buy a Solar panel from the profit 👍

hello robert i think i remember something about needing to use the purple looking blue ray disks that had been used ,because they had silicon content in them,apparently these are the only disks they said that will work as solar cells, Ill give it a test and see what happens

It can be used like any little mirror to reflect sunlight on a black pipe filled with water to warm it, for example. If you have enough of them arranged well and the sun shines bright at the right angle, you may be able to boil a pot of water with it ;)

I love the old video where you cut the top off an old car battery and hundreds of dry cell batteries fall out. I laugh when I think of some poor sap getting battery acid all over to discover there were no batteries inside. Then cleaning up the mess.

Robert thanks for the content, I'm open minded and I will analyze everything that is out there, I was watching your video and occurred to me that maybe this is not a solar power but a rf antenna or a receiver.i like to read your opinion.

Arrange them in a parabola and point them at a tin can Stirling engine attached to a DC motor.

1 million views = $3,000. You should name your wind turbine "quantum wind turbine"

To use a CD as a solar cell you have to hook a wire to the aluminum layer. Perhaps by drilling a hole inserting a wire and using a conductive glue to attach it to the CD. Then attach the wire to the positive terminal of a super capacitor and the negative terminal to ground. Photons will knock electrons off of the aluminum and they will be replaced by electrons from the ground flowing through the super capacitor. Charge will probably build up on the plastic of the CD and have to be bled off through some sort of electrostatic motor or electrostatic conducting material back to the earth ground. Useful work energy is taken from the super capacitor it’s self. All in all it would work just the same and be easier to just use a sheet off aluminum foil. This is by the way an old Nikola Tesla patent.

I think if you added the words "real working" in all caps you would get better circulation of this video.

If it sounds to good to be true, by all probability it isn't. But the people always want to see the next new wonder, the next new, easy and sparkling answer to questions not asked. Because an easy answer, as wrong as it may be, is for some always preferable to really having to do something

It won’t get the views...but it will get the appreciation from the smart ones. Thanks. I love a good debunker.

This is exactly why when I see a video like that that looks convincing I always do my homework. And do my research.

It really is sad that this has to be explained, but we do live in a world that P.T. Barnum would have loved. In his time a sucker was born every minute, but today they are born every second.

Well done with this public service :). If it helps, I wasn't looking for a video on DIY solar cells, but google just found it relevant to me (no idea why, it's been 10+ years since I search for anything like Overunity / Free Energy etc). I have never seen any of the videos that promoted this fallacy so your video must be gaining some traction with the funcy (or funky) youtube algorithm. Congratulations: At the time of this comment, this may not have millions of views but 1/4 million views still isn't bad. Hope more people see this before wasting time and patience on garbage. My thought process here is let the youngsters with a spark of genius and lots of enthusiasm try things that might work/need developing and not get disgruntled with rubbish.

It's all about the hits and likes.

I built one of those CD solar cells and my neighbour, two doors down, had their email's spam folder filled up with 10 terabytes of my old family photos.

Damn I thought I was going to save the world with my CD collection!

G'day You just got me thinking about a almost constant power supply. Wind is the only drawback that is at a stop start but can almost be overcome with perpetual motion.

I appreciate this video.

CDs can be used as reflectors to make a Solar cooker. That's still solar energy 😁