New Delhi, March 29 (IANS). Humans have been using sunlight and heat for thousands of years, but the technology that converts sun energy into electricity, i.e. solar power, is only less than 200 years old. Yet, in such a short period of time, solar power is providing unlimited electricity to the entire world. Today solar power is being used from homes to space.
Solar power is a source of cheap, clean and unlimited energy. It not only generates electricity, but also helps a lot in saving the environment.
According to the American space agency NASA, solar power means converting sunlight into electricity. This process is based on ‘photovoltaic effect’. In 1839, French scientist Alexander Edmond Becquerel (who was just 19 years old at that time) first discovered this effect. He was doing experiments in his father’s lab. When he worked on the light an electric current was produced. This incident became the foundation of solar power.
How do solar panels work? Scientists say that solar panels are mainly made from a material called silicon. Silicon is a semiconductor, which means it can easily control electricity. A typical solar cell consists of three thin layers of silicon. The middle layer is of pure silicone. Slightly different elements are added to the upper and lower layers, such as phosphorus on one side and boron on the other. When sunlight falls on these layers, the electrons present inside the silicon get excited and start rotating. These electrons are pulled from one layer to another. Due to this, negative charge is accumulated on one side and positive charge on the other side. A circuit is made by placing wires on both sides. Electrons flowing through this circuit produce electricity that we can use.
The special thing is that there is no smoke, pollution or sound in this entire process. All that is needed is sunlight and electricity is generated. Solar panels are so useful that space agencies even use them in spacecraft. According to NASA, the James Webb Space Telescope also receives electricity from solar panels. NASA is continuously working to improve solar technology.
Talking about the introduction of solar power in space, the first successful use of solar cells was in 1958. America launched the first solar powered satellite named Vanguard-1 in March 1958. Earlier satellites like Sputnik and Explorer-1 ran only on batteries and shut down in a few weeks, but Vanguard-1 sent data for six years. Today solar power is being used for domestic electricity, street lights, water pumps and large solar parks.
–IANS
MT/VC