Let There Be Light Essay examples -- Energy Transportation Papers

permit There Be Light The sun shines brightly over the involute green hillsides on a beautiful summer day. Green leaf-covered trees drift gently in the breeze next to the road, soaking up the light. However, if you learn closely, off in the distance, you might catch a glimpse of well-nigh odd-looking vehicles approaching at a steady pace. As the pack zooms by, you cannot jock but notice the black panels covering each car. You curiously delight in what purpose they serve, and why these automobiles left hand no smell of exhaust behind. Suddenly, you take a crap the connection It was right under your nose the whole quantify exclusively as the trees use sunlight to grow and reproduce, these solar powered cars transpose the suns rays into energy that propels them onward. register In 1839, a French scientist named Edmond Becquerel experimented with electronics and found that he could create a weak electric ongoing using selenium, a light-sensit ive metal that responded to the suns rays. Becquerel had spy photovoltaics (photo meaning light, voltaic meaning power), or the PV effect, which sour out to be the key to harnessing solar energy and converting it into useful forms (Bellis 1). Although he had little explanation for this phenomenon, his successors picked up the investigative process where he left off. In 1870, Heinrich Hertz researched and experimented with selenium, and produced a primitive light-to-electricity machine (1). As time progressed, scientists developed newer and better solar energy converters using silicon, which had a very much higher efficiency than selenium. Solar cells were first officially invented by Charles Fritts in 1883 (1). Fritts used the selenium metal, which ... ... Cars Solar pushing and Photovoltaics. New York About, Inc., 2002. 23 Aug. 2002. History of the World Solar Challenge. World Solar Challenge. 23 Aug. 2002. Shnayerson, Michael. The Car That Could - T he indoors Story of GMs Revolutionary Electric Vehicle. Businessweek Online. 23 Aug. 2002. Solar Powered Vehicles. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC). 23 Aug. 2002. Sunrayce. University of Michigan. 23 Aug. 2002. Tour a Solar Car. American Solar Challenge. 23 Aug. 2002