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Solar energy, radiation from the Sun capable of producing heat,


causing chemical reactions, or generating electricity. The total
amount of solar energy incident on Earth is vastly in excess of the
world’s current and anticipated energy requirements. If suitably
harnessed, this highly diffused source has the potential to satisfy all
future energy needs. In the 21st century solar energy is expected to
become increasingly attractive as a renewable energy source
because of its inexhaustible supply and its nonpolluting character,
in stark contrast to the finite fossil fuels coal, petroleum,
and natural gas.

solar panelsSolar panel array on a rooftop.© flucas/Fotolia


BRITANNICA QUIZ

Astronomy and Space Quiz

Which of these objects is the farthest from the Sun?

The Sun is an extremely powerful energy source, and sunlight is by


far the largest source of energy received by Earth, but its intensity at
Earth’s surface is actually quite low. This is essentially because of
the enormous radial spreading of radiation from the distant Sun. A
relatively minor additional loss is due to
Earth’s atmosphere and clouds, which absorb or scatter as much as
54 percent of the incoming sunlight. The sunlight that reaches the
ground consists of nearly 50 percent visible light, 45
percent infrared radiation, and smaller amounts of ultraviolet and
other forms of electromagnetic radiation.
solar energyReflection and absorption of solar energy. Although
some incoming sunlight is reflected by Earth's atmosphere and
surface, most is absorbed by the surface, which is warmed.©
Merriam-Webster Inc.

The potential for solar energy is enormous, since about 200,000


times the world’s total daily electric-generating capacity is received
by Earth every day in the form of solar energy. Unfortunately,
though solar energy itself is free, the high cost of its collection,
conversion, and storage still limits its exploitation in many places.
Solar radiation can be converted either into thermal energy (heat)
or into electrical energy, though the former is easier to accomplish.
solar energy potentialEarth's photovoltaic power
potential.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski

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Thermal Energy
Among the most common devices used to capture solar energy and
convert it to thermal energy are flat-plate collectors, which are used
for solar heating applications. Because the intensity of solar
radiation at Earth’s surface is so low, these collectors must be large
in area. Even in sunny parts of the world’s temperate regions, for
instance, a collector must have a surface area of about 40 square
metres (430 square feet) to gather enough energy to serve the
energy needs of one person.
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The most widely used flat-plate collectors consist of a blackened


metal plate, covered with one or two sheets of glass, that is heated
by the sunlight falling on it. This heat is then transferred
to air or water, called carrier fluids, that flow past the back of the
plate. The heat may be used directly, or it may be transferred to
another medium for storage. Flat-plate collectors are commonly
used for solar water heaters and house heating. The storage of heat
for use at night or on cloudy days is commonly accomplished by
using insulated tanks to store the water heated during sunny
periods. Such a system can supply a home with hot water drawn
from the storage tank, or, with the warmed water flowing through
tubes in floors and ceilings, it can provide space heating. Flat-plate
collectors typically heat carrier fluids to temperatures ranging from
66 to 93 °C (150 to 200 °F). The efficiency of such collectors (i.e.,
the proportion of the energy received that they convert into usable
energy) ranges from 20 to 80 percent, depending on the design of
the collector.
solar heatingA building roof with flat-plate collectors that capture
solar energy to heat air or water.Alan Mak

Another method of thermal energy conversion is found in solar


ponds, which are bodies of salt water designed to collect and store
solar energy. The heat extracted from such ponds enables the
production of chemicals, food, textiles, and other industrial
products and can also be used to warm greenhouses, swimming
pools, and livestock buildings. Solar ponds are sometimes used to
produce electricity through the use of the organic Rankine
cycle engine, a relatively efficient and economical means of solar
energy conversion, which is especially useful in remote locations.
Solar ponds are fairly expensive to install and maintain and are
generally limited to warm rural areas.

On a smaller scale, the Sun’s energy can also be harnessed to cook


food in specially designed solar ovens. Solar ovens typically
concentrate sunlight from over a wide area to a central point, where
a black-surfaced vessel converts the sunlight into heat. The ovens
are typically portable and require no other fuel inputs.
solar-powered cookstoveA solar-powered cookstove in the Potala
Palace, Lhasa, Tibet.© Elena Slepitskaya/Dreamstime.com

Solar energy

KEY PEOPLE

 Paul Beattie MacCready


 Mária Telkes

RELATED TOPICS
 Smart grid
 Solar wind power satellite
 Energy
 Solar constant
 Solar radiation
 Wind energy
 Energy flow

Electricity Generation
Solar radiation may be converted directly into electricity by solar
cells (photovoltaic cells). In such cells, a small electric voltage is
generated when light strikes the junction between a metal and
a semiconductor (such as silicon) or the junction between two
different semiconductors. (See photovoltaic effect.) The power
generated by a single photovoltaic cell is typically only about
two watts. By connecting large numbers of individual cells together,
however, as in solar-panel arrays, hundreds or even thousands of
kilowatts of electric power can be generated in a solar electric plant
or in a large household array. The energy efficiency of most present-
day photovoltaic cells is only about 15 to 20 percent, and, since the
intensity of solar radiation is low to begin with, large and costly
assemblies of such cells are required to produce even moderate
amounts of power.

solar cellWhen sunlight strikes a solar cell, an electron is freed by


the photoelectric effect. The two dissimilar semiconductors possess
a natural difference in electric potential (voltage), which causes the
electrons to flow through the external circuit, supplying power to
the load. The flow of electricity results from the characteristics of
the semiconductors and is powered entirely by light striking the
cell.© Merriam-Webster Inc.

Small photovoltaic cells that operate on sunlight or artificial light


have found major use in low-power applications—as power sources
for calculators and watches, for example. Larger units have been
used to provide power for water pumps and communications
systems in remote areas and for weather and
communications satellites. Classic crystalline silicon panels and
emerging technologies using thin-film solar cells,
including building-integrated photovoltaics, can be installed by
homeowners and businesses on their rooftops to replace or
augment the conventional electric supply.

solar powerSingle-family house with solar panels on the roof.©


Andreas Weber/Dreamstime.com
Concentrated solar power plants employ concentrating, or focusing,
collectors to concentrate sunlight received from a wide area onto a
small blackened receiver, thereby considerably increasing the light’s
intensity in order to produce high temperatures. The arrays of
carefully aligned mirrors or lenses can focus enough sunlight
to heat a target to temperatures of 2,000 °C (3,600 °F) or more.
This heat can then be used to operate a boiler, which in turn
generates steam for a steam turbine electric generator power plant.
For producing steam directly, the movable mirrors can be arranged
so as to concentrate large amounts of solar radiation upon
blackened pipes through which water is circulated and thereby
heated.


concentrated solar-power plantNevada Solar One, a concentrated solar-power


plant.PRNewsFoto/ACCIONA/AP Images
solar reflectorOne of the reflectors at the Solar Two power plant, Mojave Desert, California.kjkolb

Other Applications
solar-powered wingsArtificial wings powered by solar energy.©
American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)See all videos
for this article

Solar energy is also used on a small scale for purposes other than
those described above. In some countries, for instance, solar energy
is used to produce salt from seawater by evaporation. Similarly,
solar-powered desalination units transform salt water into drinking
water by converting the Sun’s energy to heat, directly or indirectly,
to drive the desalination process.

Solar technology has also emerged for the clean and renewable
production of hydrogen as an alternative energy source. Mimicking
the process of photosynthesis, artificial leaves are silicon-based
devices that use solar energy to split water into hydrogen
and oxygen, leaving virtually no pollutants. Further work is needed
to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of these devices for
industrial use.

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