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Why all solar panels are secretly LEDs (and all LEDs are secretly solar panels)

Steve Mould · 2.5M views · 2019-02-04 · 5:36

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Overview

Steve Mould shows that LEDs and solar panels are both diodes made from semiconductors, so a solar panel can emit light and an LED can generate electricity. He demonstrates a small solar panel lighting up.

On Hacker News

Cited as a neat demonstration that diodes work in both directions in semiconductor and LED discussions.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2022–2024

Topics

Semiconductors & chip manufacturingEveryday physics & science demos
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ledsolar paneldiodesemiconductorssteve mould

What people said

hawski · 2024-11 · Reference

Steve Mould of Youtube fame did this: Why all solar panels are secretly LEDs (and all LEDs are secretly solar panels) - [VIDEO]

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itishappy · 2024-06 · Reference

> You can't make a sink out of it in any way. Sure you can, just drive 'em at a higher reverse voltage and they'll emit IR light instead. [VIDEO]

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magicalhippo · 2022-03 · Reference

Steve Mould had a video[1] about this a couple of years ago where he shows a small solar panel lighting up. [1]: [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Steve Mould, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

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