Solar energy has the power to save mankind. At first glance this statement might sound a little extreme, but it is essentially true. Our modern lifestyles demand a lot of power for our appliances, vehicles, and information. In order to generate the electricity that supplies this power, we are burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil at an alarming rate. Not only are there finite supplies of both of these resources, but they are polluting our environment with toxins and carbon.
The carbon could eventually heat up our globe to the point where life as we know it could no longer exist. That is why alternative, carbon-neutral, renewal energy sources are so important. There is wind power, wave power, and solar power. Learning how solar energy works is the first step in a long road to enact meaningful change and get our country and planet on the right track to a greener future.
How Does Solar Power Work?
Solar energy is powered by the energy of the sun. The sun is essentially just a single ball of energy. There is enough power being produced in the core of the sun to power the Earth for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years.
Even the energy that the sun sends hurtling through space is still powerful enough to burn our skin, heat our cars, and give plants the energy to grow.
Being able to harness the sun’s energy and make it do useful work is the purpose of all solar energy research.
Currently solar energy is being primarily used to produce electricity through solar panels. Within the spectrum of the sun’s rays there are small particles called photons. Photons are particles and waves of light that travel at fantastic speeds.
When they run into another molecule they have the power to alter the state of that molecule, generally by taking away or giving the molecule an electron. It is possible that this act will change the charge of that molecule and therefore make it unstable. Unstable molecules always want to return to a stable state. This can then be used to create heat or energy.
To create energy, the electrons that are moving around from one solar cell to another eventually are drawn to highly conductive copper wires and sent to an appliance or a storage unit, such as a battery. To create heat, the molecules that are being bombarded with photons are getting excited by all this movement. They are moving, vibrating at an imperceptibly. These vibrations cause the item to heat up.
No matter how you look at it, solar energy has the power to accomplish amazing things. If we could properly harness it and use it as efficiently as possible, we wouldn’t have to rely on fossil fuels for heating or energy anymore. The trick lies in finding ways to trap photons and let them do their work without having them bounce back into the atmosphere. If you are interested in learning more about how solar energy works perhaps you’ll go on to study green technology and work to make our world a better place.
