The power of the sun harnessed into tiny metal wafers
What are Solar Panels?
To say that life is dependent on the sun is an understatement of cosmic proportions. Without the sun, without its nurturing rays, its illuminating contribution to our solar system, our planet – and our entire existence – would be nothing more than a speck of dust in a vast expansive universe.
Our ancestors realized the power of the sun early on. Before the first humans stepped out of darkness and embraced the light, sunlight enabled the development of the basic photoreceptors that would evolve into the complex configuration of cells and receptors we call eyes. Our atmosphere – the one that seems like it was made just for us – developed because of the perfect distance between our planet and our sun.
Eventually, entire civilizations grew to worship the sun as a source of fertility, knowledge, and power. Before coal and before natural gas, solar power was the single most powerful and useful source of energy for our planet.
In that vein, solar panels are metal wafer-like panels that harness energy from light and convert it into useable electrical energy.
How do Solar Panels Work?
Even though the sun is special, the light it emits is not the only kind in the universe. At the core of every form of light is a simple adherence to a predetermined list of radiation. Light as we know it is nothing more than a form of electromagnetic radiation as a result of the wavelike movement of particles called “Photons.” Light is special because it has properties of both a particle and a wave, which means that light is actually a physical phenomenon. The sun itself emits almost every kind of radiation on the spectrum, but what we call sunlight is a combination of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light.
The term solar panel is a misnomer, because the sun isn’t the only light source that can be used on a panel. Solar panels work through a principle known as the photovoltaic effect. Absorbed light causes an excitation of the electrons in a metal panel until the electrons become excited enough to jump into an external source to produce energy.
An example can be shown using a simple solar-powered phone charger connected to a mobile phone. The charger absorbs sunlight using metallic solar panels; the electrons in the panels get excited and jump into the cell phone, and the cell phone charges because of the electricity generated by the circuit.
Much like a desk that can only be moved by using two hands instead of two fingers, the electrons in a panel can only be moved if the right amount of light energy excites electrons. I mentioned earlier that solar panels can be activated using non-solar light, but that’s only true as long as the non-solar light is enough to excite the electrons in a panel.
Why are Solar Panels Important?
We’ve reached a point in our technological evolution where coal and natural gas have become synonymous with energy. We need energy to power our phones, our computers, our cars, our schools, and our universities, and to do so, we’ve been burning harmful fossil fuels.
Coal and natural gas, due to their lengthy regeneration periods, are non-renewable forms of energy. Unlike solar power, which will be abundant for the next 20 billion years, our coal and natural gas reserves will most likely expire by 2050 at our rate of consumption.
In recent years, there’s been a slow, gradual shift towards using other forms of renewable energy. Solar panels are important because they utilize a perfectly renewable form of energy – the sun. They don’t damage our environment, they don’t cause harmful emissions that lead to debilitating health defects, and they make it possible to step outside on a July afternoon without having to worry about smog.
What is the Future of Solar Panels?
In comparison to coal and natural gas, which work on a simple “burn and reap energy” basis, solar panels are horribly inefficient. Most solar panels are between zero and 16 per cent efficient, and are all but useless on cloudy days. Not to mention, for many homes, the cost of installing solar panels can be enormous.
As such, solar panels already are an absurd possibility. However, I’m looking forward to a future reliant on renewable forms of energy working together in perfect harmony. Most importantly, the cost of solar panel production drops every day. There will soon come a time when the economic benefits of solar energy will outweigh the financial costs of production.