Mother Nature Network: A new technique could help keep dust off of solar cells, a major obstacle that reduces the efficiency of photovoltaic panels. The technique, developed by Sergey Biryukov, a researcher at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center, uses an electric field to charge dust and small particles before repelling them. At a recent demonstration, Biryukov poured a small amount of a dustlike powder onto an electrified solar cell. The dust was immediately thrown back prevented by the electric field from settling...