The history of the solar photovoltaic energy. With all the current media coverage of climate change and our growing anxieties surrounding emissions and carbon footprint, you would be forgiven for thinking that renewable energy such as photovoltaic systems is developed innovations to meet the modern environmental challenges that we face.
In fact, human beings humans have long been fascinated by the idea to exploit the energy of the Sun, and we have been experimenting with the technology to do this thousands of years.
The ancient Greeks, including the legendary inventor Archimedes, is experimenting with giant mirrors to take advantage of the heat of the Sun as a weapon of war. But it was not until the 19th century, with the discovery of the photovoltaic effect, what we would recognise commonly known as the solar panel was born.
The photovoltaic effect is the creation of a voltage in a material that has been exposed to light and first recognized by the physicist a. e. Becquerel in 1839 French. Becquerel has failed to make practical use of this discovery, but his work influenced Charles Fritts, who, in 1883, built the first cell of the world solar.
The Fritts cell used a semiconductor and a very thin layer of gold and was a scientific step important at the time, even though it is only about 1% efficient.
The modern photovoltaic cell, which was much more effective than its predecessors of the 19th century, was created by Bell Labs in 1954. First, is there no real product demand, as it was much more expensive than other forms of electricity production.
However, in the years 1960 ideal use was found for photovoltaic cells. They were adjusted by NASA satellites to destination of outer space, because it would allow the craft to continue to generate power even after their batteries were exhausted.
In the following decade, or if solar panels became widely in demand in other markets such as offshore oil platforms, which were difficult to supply with power by other means.
In the latter part of the 20th century as the consumer of solar domestic was born, that people began to realize that they could not simply rely on cheap oil and other fossil fuels indefinitely. High prices of oil caused by conflict in the Middle East, with growing awareness of environmental issues, has led many owners adopt solar power as a way to become more self-reliant and less damaging to the planet...
Today, there are two main types of solar energy systems used by the owners. One is the variety of photovoltaic conversion database, which uses panels to generate electricity directly by using solar energy.
The other type is the thermal solar energy, which uses the energy from the Sun to heat special fluids moving through pipes, which can then be used to heat water or power machines.
Despite this long history of experimentation and innovation, solar energy is still far operated as it might be. If we really want a more sustainable, green future for our planet, and solar photovoltaic will have to play a major role to play.
Sustainable energy are leading specialists in solar panel of Glasgow. The history of the solar photovoltaic energy
