| As the world tires to wean itself off of fossil | | | | is not that efficient, unfortunately, which means a |
| fuels, green energy alternatives like wind power | | | | lot of solar cells over a large area are required to |
| are gaining more prominence. There are many | | | | generate significant amounts of electricity. |
| different kinds of green energy alternatives: | | | | Researchers are hard at work trying to improve |
| besides wind, there is geothermal energy, tidal | | | | the efficiency of photovoltaic technologies to |
| power, and biofuel. And then there is the | | | | create smaller, more powerful solar cell |
| granddaddy of them all: solar energy. | | | | installations. |
| Solar energy is energy generated directly or | | | | Solar energy is not foolproof, of course, and it |
| indirectly from the sun's rays. The Earth itself | | | | often makes sense to have energy source |
| operates on solar energy, so it is no wonder that | | | | available as an alternative. Solar power is affected |
| we should harness that energy in other ways as | | | | by weather (you will generate less energy on |
| well. | | | | cloudy days) and by the length of the day -- |
| The simplest way to use solar energy is to use | | | | there's no solar power generation at night! At high |
| the sun's rays as a heat source. In the same way | | | | northern or southern latitudes solar power loses a |
| that campers can use the sun to heat or even | | | | lot of its appeal because of the long (sometimes |
| cook food, energy producers can heat a liquid like | | | | for days or even weeks on end) periods without |
| water by exposing it to the sun. That hot water | | | | sun power and the general weakness of the sun's |
| can be used to heat a building, to heat a pool, or | | | | rays. Those places require a different method of |
| even to heat tap water. It can also be used to | | | | power generation. |
| boil water to create steam, which in turn is used | | | | These drawbacks are mitigated to some extent |
| to generate electricity using a turbine -- the same | | | | with the use of powerful battery technology. If |
| technology used by nuclear power generation, but | | | | you have a way to store excess energy, you |
| without any of the dangerous byproducts. | | | | can generate a surplus when the sun is shining and |
| The other way to use solar energy is to generate | | | | save some of the extra energy for times when |
| electricity using photovoltaic technology, | | | | solar power is unavailable or insufficient. |
| commonly referred to as "solar cells". Photovoltaic | | | | Expect to see many breakthroughs in solar |
| technology revolves around special materials that | | | | energy over the next few years. With so much |
| when exposed to direct sunlight capture some of | | | | of the world's population living in sunny climates, |
| the sun's energy and convert it directly to | | | | especially in developing countries, solar energy is |
| electricity: when hit by a ray of sunlight, a | | | | the most effective and eco-friendly energy |
| chemical reaction occurs within the solar cell and | | | | source available. |
| free electrons are released. The conversion ratio | | | | |