In 1873, an English electrical engineer named Willoughby Smith discovered that the element Selenium had photoconductive properties. This discovery paved the way for other discoveries and innovation in solar energy.
Charles Fritts produced the first solar cell using Selenium wafers in 1883. This technology was only 1% efficient, but it was a major step forward in the invention of solar cells.
Edmond Becquerel
The inventor of solar power was French physicist Edmond Becquerel, born in Paris on January 20, 1820. He was the son of Antoine-Cesar Becquerel, who was an experimental physicist at France’s Museum of Natural History and later a professor at the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers.
During the 1830s, Becquerel began to study phosphorescence and fluorescence, which were a result of light interacting with certain substances. Becquerel also studied the photoelectric effect, which occurred when light illuminated electrodes dipped in an acidic solution.
He created the first photovoltaic cell in 1839. The cell was made up of two platinum electrodes dipped in an electrolyte and then exposed to light.
Becquerel was able to create the first photovoltaic cell because of his discovery of the “photovoltaic effect.” He discovered that when an electric current passes through a material, electrons can be excited into an excited state in a conduction band. The result is a voltage across the electrodes and electricity.
Although this discovery took place more than 115 years ago, it has allowed people to produce enough energy from the sun to run their homes, businesses and even power their cars. As technology advances, it is possible to make the world more energy efficient, saving people money and helping the Earth recover from climate change.
It is important to note that the energy produced by a solar cell has a very small carbon footprint. As technology improves and materials used in the panels are recycled, the carbon footprint will continue to shrink.
Today, many companies manufacture a variety of solar panel types, including the most common – the thin-film solar panel. These solar panels can be made of copper, aluminum, or silicon. The most common material is aluminum, which costs less than other materials, and has a long lifespan.
The first solar panels, however, weren’t very efficient, as they didn’t convert sunlight into electricity. The next step in the evolution of solar cells was to use selenium, a metal that could be coated with a very thin layer of gold, creating a solar module that would convert sunlight into electricity.
Charles Fritts
Solar energy is an abundant and renewable source of power that can be harnessed to produce electricity and heat. Although astronomical amounts of energy are poured into space every second by the Sun, it is only recently that we have started to explore ways of using this natural resource for human benefit.
One of the most important pioneers of solar energy was Charles Fritts, who invented the first cell that can convert sunlight into electricity. He coated a piece of selenium with an extremely thin layer of gold, which made the material transparent to light and allowed it to produce a significant electric current.
The idea of using a semiconductor material for this purpose was a concept that had been around since 1839, when French physicist Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect, or the ability to convert sunlight into electrical energy. Nevertheless, it was not until the late 1800s that selenium cells were able to be used for the purpose of generating electricity, thanks to an ingenious experiment by New Yorker Charles Fritts.
In 1883, he constructed a solar panel that could generate an electric current using junctions formed by coating selenium with an ultrathin gold film. He tested it by exposing the metal plate to sunlight, which produced a continuous stream of current.
Despite his success, he was unable to commercialize the technology because of the low efficiency of selenium cells. This was especially true of the early cells, which only converted a small percentage of the energy they received into electricity.
However, as solar energy grew in popularity, scientists began to look for more efficient and affordable solutions to harness this energy. In the 1950s, three Bell Labs researchers, Daryl Chapin, Gerald Pearson, and Calvin Fuller, discovered that silicon crystals can be used as semiconductors when they are exposed to light. They were able to use this knowledge to create the first silicon solar cell, which was about six percent more efficient than previous designs.
Today, solar panels are used in a wide range of applications, including portable calculators and rooftop solar arrays. While the cost of developing and installing these devices is still high, it is expected that the technology will become more and more efficient as the years pass. In the meantime, governments are encouraging the development of solar technology to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and combat climate change.
Russel Ohl
Solar power is a renewable energy source that harnesses sunlight to convert it into electricity. It is currently used in homes and businesses as well as in remote areas that lack electricity.
When Russel Ohl was a physicist at Bell Labs in 1940, he was investigating how silicon crystals worked. Previously, vacuum tubes were state of the art for radio and telephone equipment; however, the erratic behavior of silicon crystals irritated most scientists. They thought the only solution was to purify the material enough to make it more reliable.
During his research, he came across a small silicon sample with a crack down its center. He examined it closely and noticed that when the crystal was exposed to light, current flowed through it.
As it turns out, the crack was a barrier between regions that contained different levels of impurities. As a result, electrons could not move from one region to the other.
Once the silicon was in contact with sunlight, these impurities broke down and electrons moved across the gap. This led to the development of a semiconductor device called a junction transistor.
Later, the work of another scientist at Bell Labs led to the creation of the first practical solar cell in 1954. This innovation, based on the same P-N junction Ohl discovered in 1940, has since become the foundation of all solar cells.
Today, photovoltaics are used in many types of devices including mobile phones and satellites. Visitors can see the latest solar technology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, which opened “Solar on the Line,” a display that explores the history and uses of solar power in America.
The museum’s display includes a 1938 solar oven, Hoffman Electronics 1961 Solar Radio, a 1940 lightsensitive P-N junction from Russell Ohl, and a Bell Labs 1954 photovoltaic cell. It also features a Comsat solar cell from 1975.
During his time at Bell Labs, Russell Ohl developed the basic groundwork for the modern transistor and invented diodes needed for radar during World War II. He was also known for specialized research into the behavior of certain types of crystals, which allowed him to discover the PN barrier, a key factor in the invention of all diodes.
Solar Panels
The history of solar power is a long one that has been filled with fits and starts. However, the advent of modern nanotechnologies has made solar energy much more efficient and has allowed it to be a cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels.
The first major breakthrough in the development of solar energy occurred in 1839, when French physicist Edmond Becquerel invented a photovoltaic cell that could convert sunlight into electricity. This was a huge leap forward in the field of solar technology, and it helped establish the concept of a renewable source of energy.
Another major milestone in the development of solar technology came in 1883 when New York inventor Charles Fritts invented a solar cell that used semiconductor selenium to turn sunlight into electric current. This was a big step forward in the field of solar energy, but it wasn’t cost-effective or efficient enough to make it practical for widespread use.
It was only after World War II that the first silicon photovoltaic cell was developed by scientists at Bell Labs. This was a major accomplishment, and it allowed the US government to pour more money into solar energy technology.
In 1954, Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson, all of whom were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, worked together at Bell Labs to develop silicon photovoltaic cells. This was a major breakthrough that allowed the US government to invest more money into the solar energy industry and to help it become a successful alternative to fossil fuels.
Since then, many companies and governments have thrown their support behind the solar energy industry. Its popularity has grown thanks to its ability to produce clean, green energy that is cheaper than other forms of energy. In addition, it is becoming a major source of alternative energy in many parts of the world. The United States government has even provided incentives to help homeowners switch from oil and gas to solar panels.
