The amount of solar energy on Earth greatly exceeds the world’s current and predicted energy needs and has high potential if used effectively and capable of meeting future energy needs. hybrid. Learn what solar energy is and how it is produced here!
Solar
Solar energy is radiation from the Sun that is capable of generating heat and causing chemical reactions or generating electricity generated through solar panels.
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- Solar energy is a renewable energy source due to its endless supply and non-polluting properties.
- The Sun is the largest source of energy that the Earth receives, but the intensity of the strong source on the Earth’s surface is quite low due to the enormous spread of radiation from the distant Sun.
- Because the Earth’s atmosphere and clouds absorb or scatter up to 54% of sunlight.
- Sunlight reaching the ground consists of nearly 50% visible light, 45% infrared radiation, and smaller amounts of ultraviolet and other forms of electromagnetic radiation.
- The potential for solar energy is very high as the world’s total daily electricity generation capacity that the Earth receives every day in the form of solar energy is about 200,000 times.
Although solar energy is free, collection, conversion and storage costs are quite high, which still limits its use in many places.
Solar radiation can be converted into:
- Thermal energy (heat)
- Electric power,
The former is easier to do.
Difference between solar panels and solar thermal panels
Solar panels generate electricity, while solar thermal panels generate heat. Although the power source of both systems is the sun, the technology of each system is different.
- Solar PV works through the photovoltaic effect, in which a photon or basic unit of light impacts a semiconductor surface such as silicon and causes the release of electrons.
- Solar heat is the direct heating of water or any other liquid through sunlight. It can be used for domestic purposes, for example solar thermal panels are also installed on the roof facing the sun, heating the water stored in the hot water tank and thus providing water supply. hot and heating.
- Solar heat can also be used in power plants for larger scale purposes.
When was solar energy discovered?
- Solar energy has existed since the early 7th century and was used by humans to light fires by reflecting the sun’s rays onto shiny objects.
- In the 3rd century BC, the Greeks and Romans used solar energy with mirrors to light torches in religious ceremonies.
- By 1839 at the age of 19, French physicist Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic (PV) effect while testing a cell made of metal electrodes in a conductive solution.
- One of the first pioneers of solar energy, Dr. Mária Telkes, known as the Solar Queen of Solar Energy, helped the United States government develop solar distillation to convert converting sea water into fresh water during World War II.
- In 1954 PV Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson developed the silicon photovoltaic cell at Bell Labs, which was the first solar cell capable of absorbing and converting solar energy into energy to run electrical devices. daily.
- Today satellites and spacecraft are powered by the sun.
How is electricity from solar energy produced?
- Solar panels made of silicon are installed in a metal frame with a glass cover.
- Electrons are ejected from silicon atoms when photons, or particles of light, hit the thin layer of silicon on top of the solar panel.
- PV charge is captured by the wiring in solar panels when electric current (specifically direct current or DC) is generated.
- The DC electricity is then converted to alternating current (AC) using an inverter, which is the type of electrical current used when you plug devices into regular wall outlets.
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Source: pagasa.edu.vn