Artificial intelligence is helping engineers build solar panels out of a “miracle material”. Scientists have long been excited about the possibility of new perovskite tandem solar cells, which could help bring the vastly improved efficiency of perovskite to mass production. They have an efficiency of more than 33 per cent, dramatically higher than conventional silicon solar cells. Those tandem solar cells come with a host of other benefits, too. They rely on inexpensive raw materials and can be made relatively easily. Engineers have faced a problem, however, in making them cheaply and at scale. To make them efficient, manufacturers need to make a very thin, high-grade layer of perovskite. Doing that is difficult. It relies on a complex process that varies significantly, seemingly with little explanation. Trying to improve that process has often relied on a gradual process of trying out new possibilities through trial and error. Now scientists have successfully built a new system that uses artificial intelligence to try and work out how to build those layers better. Instead of picking through video recordings to work out how different layers work, researchers were able to train a computer system to spot the hidden signs of good and bad coatings. After the system was built, it was able to be used better understand how to change the production to make it more efficient, researchers said. “These are extremely exciting results,” said Ulrich W Paetzold, a researcher from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, who worked on the new study. “Thanks to the combined use of AI, we have a solid clue and know which parameters need to be changed in the first place to improve production. “Now we are able to conduct our experiments in a more targeted way and are no longer forced to look blindfolded for the needle in a haystack. This is a blueprint for follow-up research that also applies to many other aspects of energy research and materials science.” An article describing the breakthrough, ‘Discovering Process Dynamics for Scalable Perovskite Solar Cell Manufacturing with Explainable AI’, is published in Advanced Materials. Read More Tiny solar-powered van unveiled in Japan Solar panel world record smashed with ‘miracle material’ ‘We let you down’: Peloton apologises for Thanksgiving ride

Kim Woodburn is fuming at Lorraine Kelly, accusing the presenter of 'fat-shaming' GB News' Nigel Farage after he stripped off in the jungle for I'm A Celebrity. Kelly appeared to focus on the former UKIP leader's looks during her show, rather than how he had performed. “She’s a stupid woman. Let’s face it. She’s like a child in the playground”, Woodburn scathed saying Kelly 'wasn't all that'. “Farage is doing a splendid job. He has been polite and courteous, done the trials and got every star." Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Sandi Toksvig has prompted an outpouring of support for expressing her anger at anti-trans people in politics and the media. The former Great British Bake Off presenter said: “I am so distressed by people who call themselves ‘radical feminists’ but are anti-trans. I could weep. I don’t get it. It’s beyond me. “When the feminist movement started in the 60s and 70s, lesbians were often excluded, because we were told that we would make the movement less palatable. I have been excluded myself, so how could I do that to someone else? It fills me with rage.” Toksvig was speaking in an interview with The i newspaper to promote an upcoming performance with the London Gay Men’s Chorus. A vocal LGBT+ rights campaigner for decades, Toksvig was one of Britain’s most visible lesbian women when she came out publicly in 1994. She also founded the Women’s Equality Party in 2015 and is working on a campaign to remove unelected Church of England bishops from the House of Lords because of its opposition to same-sex marriage. She said: “It’s shocking. They don’t deal with gay people or women in an equitable manner. And they aren’t some sort of obscure organisation – this is our state church. “None of them have been elected. This is our parliament and it’s not OK. Be a bigot if you want to, in your own back yard – but don’t come and play in mine.” Responding to Toksvig’s comments on social media, people immediately jumped to the TV stalwart’s side. Broadcaster India Willoughby wrote: “Now here’s a classy lady. Graham Linehan [the screenwriter and prominent anti-trans campaigner] will be along shortly to tell Sandi she’s not a real feminist.” Another person said: “Sandi had such an impact on me when I was growing up and watching number 73 [a 1980s British TV show]. “I'd never seen another woman like her and being a non conforming teenage lesbian who didn't understand herself or her sexuality, Sandi was pivotal in helping me figure it all out.” And a third added: “She’s fabulous isn’t she.” As for Toksvig, she promised to go on campaigning. She said: “I’ve been an activist all of my life. It’s a core part of who I am. We’re here, we’re making noise – and we’re not going away.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Australia put one foot in the Davis Cup final after Alexei Popyrin beat Finland's Otto Virtanen in the first singles rubber on...

It is hoped that joining the East African Community will boost economic growth after years of war.

Friday’s first practice session in Abu Dhabi was an intriguing watch. On a weekend which is alarmingly lacking much intrigue, exactly half the grid were absent. Substituted in their place were 10 “rookie” drivers, as part of F1’s mandatory young drivers programme introduced last year. One driver, and more so how he performed, amplified one of the sport’s most peculiar issues – and one where a solution could amp up the closing races of the season. It is one of the FIA’s – the sport’s governing body – most odd rules that the Formula 2 champion can’t compete in the series again. Such a regulation would imply that there is a ready-made pathway to F1 for the winner, but this is not the case. For 2022 champion Felipe Drugovich, a second year in a row begrudgingly watching from the sidelines beckons next season. A shame because (who’d have thought it), he’s actually pretty fast. In FP1 on Friday, Drugovich recorded the second-quickest lap on the timesheet. Most notably, the Brazilian was almost three-tenths quicker than Lance Stroll in the other Aston Martin car. While it was indeed practice – with drivers and teams generally on different run plans throughout the weekend – the pace was still notably significant. Yet while F1 remains a 10-team-20-driver sport, the obstructions for junior drivers with much promise but no established route to the top table will remain. But what if there was a very genuine incentive to win Formula 2? What if those grappling for points at the bottom of the F1 standings had their future on the line? Because title-runaways happen, in all sports. Manchester City have won five of the last six Premier League titles; two of those have been at a canter. Just ask German football fans about the simplistic boredom of the Bundesliga title race; Bayern Munich have won 10 in a row. But the end-of-season battles in football rarely stop at the top. The top six spots are incentivised with European football, while those down at the bottom frantically try to escape the clutches of relegation. F1 is, of course, a different beast. All 10 teams are entities in their own right with the two driver spots their most prized assets. As such, team principals understandably want full reign on who to pick and how long to pick them for. And this simple model is not about to change anytime soon. But, just for a moment, have a bit of fun and consider the extra spice of an alternative reality this weekend. Ignoring Nyck de Vries who was dropped from AlphaTauri after 10 races in July, Logan Sargeant is currently bottom of the charts with one point. Liam Lawson, who raced five times due to Daniel Ricciardo’s injury, has two points. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen is on three points, with Zhou Guanyu and Ricciardo ahead of him on six. Meanwhile, the Formula 2 season also concludes this weekend. Alfa Romeo reserve Theo Pouchaire leads by 25 points to Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti. Aside from your motorsport die-hards, the sport’s main support series rarely entices viewers on television. Does it really matter, especially when you’re unintentionally punished by claiming the title with, most likely, a year to follow without racing? It happened to Oscar Piastri in 2022; he had to play the game behind-the-scenes to land a seat at McLaren this year, with his impressive performances indicative of the talent coming up from the higher echelons of Formula 2. It’s happening now to Drugovich – and is set to happen to Pourchaire next year. Yet imagine if a guaranteed spot in F1 was the carrot. Imagine if Sargeant had to somehow land a top-10 finish in the 22nd and final race at the Yas Marina Circuit to keep his seat at Williams. There could be ramifications for Magnussen’s poor year at Haas but, suitably scarred by the years of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, Guenther Steiner said in the summer: “I don’t want to take any risk in this moment. You can take a risk if the risk is worthwhile to take. And in this moment, we want stability.” Of course, it’s not realistic. Such a procedure would open up F1 to all sorts of issues. For example, George Russell finished bottom in 2019, simply handicapped with the worst car on the grid at Williams despite his obvious talent. The junior programmes most drivers are in would suddenly be negated. Teams would bend the rules, on and off track, in order to carve their route to their chosen driver. But boy would the basic relegation-promotion principle make the season finale spectacle engrossing. While the teams can keep motivation high with financial rewards for higher spots in the championship, the generic sporting fan is not bothered about that. In the last six Abu Dhabi race meets (including this year’s), only one has had a title riding on it with Verstappen’s controversial and thrilling win over Hamilton in 2021. For a sport with peak popularity in the Drive to Survive era, the end-of-season no-contest is a shortcoming. Read More Christian Horner reveals talks with Lewis Hamilton’s father over Red Bull seat F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and times at Yas Marina F1 to trial AI at season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix What time is qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday? Lewis Hamilton says Red Bull chief is ‘stirring things’ over team move claim Toto Wolff and Fred Vasseur receive warnings over ‘swearing’ in Las Vegas

Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim has retired from international cricket with immediate effect

Jurgen Klopp hails Mohamed Salah & Darwin Nunez for building a strong attacking partnership for Liverpool.

Slovak premier Robert Fico said Friday that the Ukraine war risks lasting until 2030 if peace...

The process of forming a new government for the Netherlands after a far-right party's election victory is underway

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc signaled it will hang onto its power systems business that some analysts had seen as

The release of Palestinian detainees comes in exchange for a group of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.