Solar Photovoltaic

There have been many debates around the globe on using solar energy as the means to fuel the economies. However, is it really possible? Before understanding what solar photovoltaic is, let us see the current scenario of our planet.

For thousands of years, animals and plants' remains that were buried in the earth were subjected to very high temperature and pressure. The resultant as known to humans was petroleum and coal. Now, we know what it takes to produce the two main sources of energy, so, can you think of any way to reproduce them so that we can meet the daily requirements? No matter how advance we are or how many improvements we see in our sciences, we can never produce the two main sources of energy.

The reason is clear; we can not wait for thousands of years, we have no means to collect animal and plant residual in such great quantity, we can not subject them to artificial high temperature and pressure and hence, the task is impossible. Furthermore, since we were kids, we have been taught that coal and petroleum are non-renewable sources and also that they are in a limited quantity on earth. So, this implies that sooner or later chances are that we will run out of fuel! Can you imagine the world then? No electricity, petrol, gas etc to do the daily jobs!

Fortunately, the great thinkers of every country, scientists, noticed this fact and hence, started working on methods to find an alternative to combat this problem. One thing that is known to all is that sun is the ultimate source of energy that is renewable in every sense too! So, methods to capture and transform solar energy into other types of energies like electricity and heat were invented. Solar photovoltaic systems can achieve just that.

The basic task of solar photovoltaic is to collect solar energy and then convert it into electric energy. The very name "Photovoltaic" implies the underlying principle as well as its working. solar photovoltaic generally consists of silicon semiconductor cells that are connected to each other. It is covered with glass for providing insulation. The heat energy is an input for solar photovoltaic while electricity is the output. This means that home solar power systems can take off the burden of your power bills and lower it considerably, if you employ such solar photovoltaic systems at your home.

This will result in generating energy on your own from a renewable source. Consider the benefits here. Using solar devices will decrease the consumption of fossil fuels. Furthermore, the countries that depend on others for these fuels will have their own source of energy as solar photovoltaic can be manufactured and used anywhere on this earth. Finally, solar energy is completely free from poisonous or greenhouse gases and residuals. Not only this, you can make use of solar photovoltaic and store electric energy for future usage as well. You don't need to wait for sun rise for doing so. solar photovoltaic therefore, is a great invention that is for everyone alike and very beneficial too!

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History of Photovoltaic Solar Cells

A solar photovoltaic system is one which takes light from the sun and turns if into electricity. In doing so, it produces no emissions or harmful waste, and does so completely silently!

None of this would be possible if it hadn’t been for the work of French Physicist Edmund Becquerel, who in 1839, discovered the photovoltaic effect. In fact, Becquerel is a bit of an inspiration for young Evil Geniuses wanting to experiment with solar energy, as he made his discoveries when he was only 19! In 1883, Charles Fritts, an American inventor, devised the first practical solar cell, when he took some selenium and covered it with a fine coating of gold.

His cell wasn’t particularly efficient, with 1% or so conversion efficiency from light to electricity; however, his design of cell later found applications as a sensor in early cameras to detect the light level-being used to “sense” light rather than to generate power in any real quantity. Albert Einstein went on to further develop the theory of the nature of light and the mechanism through which the photoelectric effect works, the discovery was considered so important that he won the Nobel Prize in 1905.

Due to their high cost and low deficiency at that time, there were a lack of applications for photovoltaic cells. It was not until Bell Laboratories started looking at the idea again in the 1930s that Russell Ohl discovered the silicon photovoltaic cell. This device was patented as Patent no: US2402662 “Light sensitive device.” Now the efficiency of solar cells began to increase.

The first generation of practical solar cells was horrendously expensive, and this severely limited their range of applications. The advantages of using photovoltaic cells to turn sunlight into electrical power were initially appreciated for powering satellites and space-missions. With the space race of the 195s and 196s, there was suddenly a good application for solar cells-despite the cost, solar cells were suitable for generating energy in the remote reaches of space. Vanguard I was launched on March 17, 1958, and was the first artificial satellite to employ solar photovoltaic cells.

With the injection of funding and research that came with the space race, solar photovoltaic cells began to come into their own. Over the years that followed, solar photovoltaic technologies have been refined and developed and new techniques, and we will explore these now.

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