When politicians start talking about renewable energy, you know we have problems. Solar energy is renewable energy is important, and here is a closer look at how technology has improved.
Solar power is simply the energy generated by using the sun. It comes in many forms including power generation with panels, home heating with non-removable systems and mobile packs to enable devices like laptops and RVs to name just a few platforms.
Historically, sunlight has been used by humans to produce heat since we began building buildings. Without electricity, mankind soon learned to direct the buildings to catch the sun's rays during the day and to store them in clay or mud pottery as a black-and-white parking lot will provide heat after sunset. Ancient Greek architecture features a unique application of this solar system, as did the Egyptian architecture.
The production of electricity using sunlight is very recent. In 1901, Nicolas Tesla was the first person to obtain a patent for solar power, but he called it the radiant heat. He demanded a patent for a radiant heat exchanger, but nothing much came out of the invention.
In 1904, an anonymous natural scientist named Albert Einstein published a paper on solar power generation. In 1913, William Coblentz obtained the first patent for a solar cell, but he could not make it. In 1916, Robert Millikan became the first to produce electricity in a cell. Forty years ago or more, no one was making great strides because the cells were not working properly to convert sunlight into energy.
In the 1950s, Bell Labs joined NASA. Bell is accused of coming up with a solar platform that will launch a spacecraft as it orbits. The solar industry will never be the same.
Gerald L. Pearson, Daryl M. Chapin, and Calvin S. Fuller began researching various solar-related areas, but not the active components of the NASA project. Fortunately, they met and exchanged ideas. While their individual projects failed, their combined efforts produced a highly efficient cell using glossy silicon to convert sunlight into electricity. The cellular activity rate was almost 6 percent, a significant improvement over previous technologies. In 1958, NASA launched the Vanguard Spacecraft, which was sponsored by solar panels.
In the years that followed, solar technology grew abruptly with limitations. Solar panels today are about 15 percent efficient, but also much smaller than they used to be. More importantly, companies are leaving the panel stage and coming out with some amazing new products. The first is the shingles exactly like the shingles on the roof, and they do. Nanotechnology also offers amazing opportunities with quantum dots, which are quantum solar panels. Eventually, these dots will be applied to things like paint. Yes, the paint on the walls of buildings and houses will eventually produce all the electricity needed for the buildings.
Man has used solar energy to heat up for too long. It is only now, however, that we begin to understand the technology of turning it into a huge amount of free electricity.
Sun is a very precious and free source to provide us electricity, especially the countries which have sun exposure for more time. Researchers are working hard to take this advantage in better ways.
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