Can anyone help me? I really need to get this information.
Give me websites that helps you about Solar Panels.
Please
Please
More Pages:
- Solar Power: Solar Power , Help=]? (12/9/2011)
- Solar Energy: What Are Solar Cells Made Of? (5/29/2012)
- Solar Energy: Solar Energy To Electricity Without PV Cells? (12/7/2011)
- Solar Turbines: Can PV Solar Cells Also Be Used To Collect Heat? (3/8/2012)
- Solar Turbines: Is There Really A Technology More Efficient And Cheaper Than Solar Cells? If Yes, What Is It? (11/21/2011)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell
This is quite a lot to swallow, so here’s a smaller summary:
Solar Photovoltaics (‘solar panels’): You need 2 materials stuck together in a ‘junction’. Most panels use semiconductors: the biggest tech right now is silicon (one half doped with phosphorous, the other with boron), although other techs like cadmium-telluride stuck to cadmium-sulphide also exist.
The materials have special properties which mean when you bring them together, an electric field is generated between them. In silicon, it’s because the Phosphorous forms 4 bonds with the silicon and has a spare electron that gets shaken off at room temperature. It moves around the crystal until it finds a boron. Boron has 3 outer electrons so it’s missing one (it’s trying to form 4 bonds like silicon), and the roaming electron bonds to the boron. You’ve just moved electrons from one side to the other, so you’ve moved charge and generated an electric field/voltage.
When light hits the cell, the energy from the light can knock an electron off one of the atoms, letting it move freely through the crystal. But you’ve already got an electric field, and this pushes the electron in one direction. Electrons moving in the same direction is electricity!
Unfortunately, full understanding requires a decent grounding in quantum physics. You can’t really understand it with classical mechanics & electromagnetism.
Hey Cammie, good question. MTR is exactly right on how a solar panel works. They don’t really collect electricity, as much as convert sunlight into voltage, that’s why they are called, “Photovoltiacs.” Most solar panels take silicone ingots and slice them into thin wafers. The wafers are doped in two different chemicals and then glued together with a conductive epoxy. When the sun hits them, the photons coming in from the sun knock an electron from one wafer onto the other, and a voltage is generated. They are very simple and reliable, many built in the 60′s for the space program are still working today.
Our home generates most of its electricity from a solar array using this same technology, it has worked fine for almost 10 years now. What I would suggest is going to Home Power Magazines website, Homepower.com and using their search engine, they have an article that came out a few months ago illustration this exact process. There are also books on this subject in your local library, and some other websites worth looking into. I will list them below. Hope this helps, good luck. Rudydoo