We can thank American novelist Henry Adams for reminding us that sometimes a little disorder is a good thing. Scientists have spent decades attempting to create flexible plastic solar cells to compete with conventional silicon cells. To boost performance, research groups have tried creating new plastic materials that enhance the flow of electricity through the solar cell. Several individuals expected to achieve good results by redesigning pliant polymers of plastic into orderly, silicon-like crystals, but the flow of electricity did not improve. Recently, however, US scientists have discovered that disorder at the molecular level actually improves polymer performance.

"People used to think that if you made polymers more like silicon, they would perform better," explained Alberto Salleo, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. "But we found that polymers don't naturally form nice, well-ordered crystals. They form small, disordered ones, and that's perfectly fine."

What is the take-away from all of this research? If chaos is good enough for science, then it is good enough for our daily lives!