Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/Reuters
Icarus would be supremely envious of this Solar Impulse plane, which is powered by the sun’s rays. The 12 000 solar panels blanketing the HB-SIA’s fuselage and the 64-meter wingspan allow it to soar for days on end without jet fuel. Batteries store some of the solar energy during the day for use after dark.










Willie Jones
Willie Jones is an associate editor at IEEE Spectrum. In addition to editing and planning daily coverage, he manages several of Spectrum's newsletters and contributes regularly to the monthly Big Picture section that appears in the print edition.
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