Ben Stratton

Mrs. Miller
English 9
May 16, 2008

Solar Power
Solar power is the world’s cleanest source of gathering electricity, and is known

as the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Considering the fact that generally all the

Earth’s energy once came from the Sun, less than 0.05% of the world’s power plants use

this tactic of generating electricity. 1 This old yet “new” source of energy is one that

someone might take advantage of due to its well-researched efficiency and cleanliness.

The photoelectric effect was first noted by a French physicist, Edmund Bequerel,

in 1839, who found that certain materials would produce small amounts of electric

current when exposed to light. In 1905, Albert Einstein described the nature of light and

the photoelectric effect on which photovoltaic technology is based, for which he later

won a Nobel prize in physics. The first photovoltaic module was built by Bell

Laboratories in 1954. It was billed as a solar battery and was mostly just a curiosity as it

was too expensive to gain widespread use. In the 1960s, the space industry began to make

the first serious use of the technology to provide power aboard spacecraft. Through the

space programs, the technology advanced, its reliability was established, and the cost

began to decline. During the energy crisis in the 1970s, photovoltaic technology gained

1
Gadler, Steve, and Wendy Adamson. Sun Power. Lerner Publications Company, (Gadler and Adamson 9).
recognition as a source of power for non-space applications. 2 However, it was not until

1883 that Charles Fritts built the first solar cell in which he coated the solar

semiconductor selenium with an extremely thin layer of gold to form the junctions, but

the device was only around one percent efficient. 3

In the past hundred years people have needed electricity to power many objects to

fulfill their needs, such as lighting a house, using a clock, microwaving or refrigerating

food, or even utilizing a machine like a computer or TV. In order to get electricity there

must be a source of some sort that produces it. There are up to seven main sources of

power that are in use today, but only one of them produce electricity with no pollution in

the result of such production.

Solar semiconductors can harness energy of the Sun simply by being exposed to

its sunlight. This is possible because the Sun puts off radiation that sends small particles,

called photons, 186,000 miles per second though space into our atmosphere. When these

photons reflect off of the semiconductor, a small amount of them are absorbed. When the

photons are absorbed they are still moving the same speed within the semiconductor. This

motion causes friction, and as the friction occurs electrons are excited and “brake loose”

in the conductor, which causes electricity to occur. At this point, the electricity is

drawn/focused to small strips of metal, called conductors, and then the harnessed

electricity is changed into chemical energy in device consisting of one or more galvanic
2
Gil , Knier. "How do Photovoltaics Work?." science.nasa.gov. Science@NASA. 18 May 2008
<http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/solarcells.htm>.
3
"Education | Fundamentals and Importance." renu.citizenre.com. © 2007 The Citizenrē Corporation. 16
May 2008 <http://renu.citizenre.com/index.php?p=edu_fundamentals>, (Citizenrē REnU ).
cells, also known as a battery. After all, the electrical energy is finally harnessed, and is

ready for many uses. A Photovoltaic cell, known as a PV cell, consists of two or more

thin layers of semi-conducting material, most commonly silicon. When the silicon is

exposed to light, electrical charges are generated and this can be conducted away by

metal contacts as direct current, DC. The electrical output from a single cell is small; so

multiple cells are connected together and encapsulated, usually behind glass, to form a

module, sometimes referred to as a "panel". The PV module is the principle building

block of a PV system and any number of modules can be connected together to give the

desired electrical output. 4

Solar semiconductors are made in a very unique way, and are generally composed

of silicon or germanium, and copper. There are many ways to make solar semiconductors,

but one technique is to drop small particles of a pure silicon substance and heat them in to

a liquid as they fall in to a mold. When it falls in to a mold, it is then cooled into a block

of solid silicon substance. When it is solid, it is sliced, cut, and fined to the appropriate

size. After the silicon is primed into a flat sheet, copper is then applied to sheet to form

as conductors, and a substance like selenium is then coated to the semiconductor. When

these processes are done, wiring is then installed to drive the electrical current into a

battery.

A solar semiconductors’ energy conversion efficiency is the percent of power

converted and collected when a solar semiconductor is connected to an electrical circuit.

4
"SOLAR ELECTRICITY EXPLAINED." www.electricityforum.com. 2008. The Electricity Forum. 18
May 2008 <http://www.electricityforum.com/solar-electricity.html>..
The semiconductors’ efficiency can be calculated by the equation “maximum power

divided be the product of Watts per meter squared and meters squared; .

However, solar semiconductors typical have an average efficiency of 12%, with the best

commercially available at only 20 to 30 percent efficiency. 5

5
"Solar Energy Systems." www.worldsnest.com. 18 May 2008
<http://www.worldsnest.com/html/solar.html>..