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Introduction
Parabola
Flat Plate
Solar Cell
Facts

Credits

Introduction

Every 20 minutes, enough energy bombards the surface of the United States of America to power the entire country for a whole year, yet almost all of this energy goes to waste. We could solve all of our energy problems if we were able to harness this immense energy reserve, but every day of the year, the power slips by us, generally unnoticed.
The reason that this power reserve goes to waste is that sunlight is spread too thinly across the earth to be of any use. For us to harness the power, we need to control, concentrate, and collect the sun's energy. This may sound simple, but its simplicity has baffled scientists for years. In the history of humanity, we have only been able to develop three, mildly successful means to collect solar energy.

Parabola

The first way to collect energy from the sun is to use what is known as a parabola. A parabola is a disk in the shape of a bowl. A parabola is used to concentrate the sun's energy by reflecting it all to a single spot. The parabola is covered with a shiny coating and is carved at the correct angle to focus all of the sunlight it collects at a single spot somewhere above and over the middle of the parabola. In the area where all energy of the parabola collects, there is a black tube that contains water. (The tube is black because black absorbs heat energy.) The water in the tube is heated, and can be used to generate electricity, but is generally used as a water heater for a small house

Flat Plate

The second way of harvesting the sun energy is by what is called a flat plate. A flat plate is a sandwich of glass, air space, black metal, and another piece of glass. Between the air space is water. The sun heats the black metal, and the metal transfers the heat energy to the water, which is sandwiched, between the glass. This heated water could be used to create electricity by steam, but is generally used as a solar water heater for small houses.

Solar Cell

The final and most familiar way of harnessing the sun's energy is by the use of a solar cell, or a solar battery. This method is more complex than the previous two methods, but has much more potential for large-scale energy production. The solar cell is made of specially treated silicon crystals. When light rays hit these silicon atoms, they knock electrons out of orbit. The missing electrons create holes in the orbits of the atoms, which are filled by electrons from other silicon atoms. This flow of electrons creates a current, which can be used or stored as electricity. This method of energy production can harvest 100 watts of electricity per square yard of solar cell!

Facts

The solar energy released by the sun may seem like the best source of energy for the world. It has many benefits: it is free, it does not pollute, is very reliable when the sun is shining, and it is very safe. With all of these benefits, it may seem odd that there are extremely few solar power plants on earth. The reasons that solar power plants do not power the world are summed up in two reasons: cost and reliability. Solar plants made of solar cells are extremely expensive to build. Thousands of square feet of solar cells are required to generate enough power for even a very small town. A large city simply doesn�t have enough room for a solar plant, or enough money. The second main reason is the unreliability of the plants. If the plant has a few cloudy days, there will be no electricity for the town. This is not an option for many towns or cities. In the modern age of today, we need to have power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, not only on sunny days, sometimes at night.
Although solar power has many downfalls, its future remains bright as we develop more efficient cells, and find better ways to use them. The world of the future may be powered by amazing hybrid solar cells, but we must continue to research this useful technology. Scientists are creating new ideas for this technology, but you must continue the search for others!

Contributions

Max from United States contributed:

I love this site! It is so helpful because it has tons of info. I think everyone should visit this site when they want information on energy. ENERGY ROCKS!

Pharkaf from Armenia contributed:

Hi, me want tell you that site is very good

Lonnie Legg from Germany contributed:

Hello

Would you like to see your Web work showcased in the international youth
magazine "Spot on"*?
I found your "Energy Planet" web site through a link from thinkquest.org.
Each month, in our "Projects online" column, a young person presents
his/her web project in his/her own words. I have a free slot in the
coming issue.
Interested? Then e-mail me ASAP at l.legg@spotlight-verlag.com
(NOT at the above address!).
I'll send you details on what I need for the presentation.

Best regards,
Lonnie Legg
Editor / Spot on

*"Spot on" is a monthly English-language magazine based in Munich,
Germany. Our readers are 12 to 16-year-old Germans, Austrians and Swiss
interested in improving their English. (To find out more about "Spot
on", go to www.spoton.de.) In our "Web World" column, we regularly
feature web projects by and for teenagers.

Tel: +49 (89) 85 68 13 12
Fax: +49 (89) 85 68 13 20

Spotlight Verlag
Redaktion "SPOT ON"
Fraunhoferstr. 22
D-82152, Planegg, Germany

http://www.spoton.de

Michael from United States contributed:

This is an excellent site with information that I havn't found elsewhere. After finishing my report on solar energy, it was a plus to redo it after reading the information posted on this site. Thanks to all who contributed. I only wish you had more fiscal information so as to not give the idea that the very expensive solar energy is free. --Michael

Victor Campos from Chile contributed:

I would like to help you with the translations. I am not an expert or something like that but if you like I can correct or modify what you have to give sense on your texts like this:

Albert Einstein naci� en Ulm, Alemania la 14 de marzo de 1879. Cinco a�os m�s tarde, en 1884, �l y su familia se trasladaron a Munich debido al nuevo trabajo de su padre. En 1901 lo naturalizaban como ciudadano suizo. Ocho a�os m�s tarde cuando Einstein era suizo a el le agrad� el trabajo de su profesor de f�sica te�rica en la universidad de Zurich. A partir la 1911 a 1912 �l ten�a el mismo trabajo que un profesor en Praga. En 1913 lo eligieron para formar parte de la academia de ciencia en Berl�n. Einstein recibi� el reconocimiento de su pais natal Alemania obteniendo as� la nacionalidad alemana en 1914. �l trabaj� por 19 a�os como profesor en Berl�n. A partir la 1920 a 1946 �l pod�a - oficialmente - ser profesor especial en Leiden, Holanda, tambi�n, pero debido a su emigraci�n, �l no trabaj� para la universidad durante mucho tiempo antes de 1946. Debido al movimiento NAZI, Einstein renunci� la ciudadan�a alemana en 1933. �l se traslad� a los Estados Unidos y trabaj� como profesor en Princeton, New Jersey hasta 1945. �l se hizo oficialmente americano en 1941. Albert Einstein muri� el 18 de abril de 1955.

VCC

Kirit M from India contributed:

to fuse two nuclei why don't we use the property that two similar charges moving in the same direction attract each other.

Robert Michaels from United States contributed:

In the section concerning tools used circa 3,500 B.C., no mention was made of electricity. I saw a clay pot with two electrodes in it, with a wire connected to each electrode, dating back to 5,000 B.C. in the museum in Cairo, and another on Crete. So far, I have never seen any reports about this. Can anyone elaborate on this?

Tony Gee from United States contributed:

i have a question:-how can the copper wire fields of the dyamo keep putting out electrons of a endless amount without being replaced after all electrons are used up. in the copper wire ,won't the copper wire turn into a isotope?i am a senior citizen retired electronic tech.and the idea came to my head.while i was working on my electron flow model.i am on a fixed income and live in a condo in ft.myers,fla. and my space is limited to play.thank you for any help or direction you you can give me.
tony gee(eltony2c@aol.com)

Aaron from Australia contributed:

It is necessary to utilise one of our country's major resources. It is in abundace in Australia and especially in Victoria where I live. Recently there have been substantial advances in coal power technology to reduce emmissions. Also the brown coal mined in Victoria is relatively clean of sulphur compounds like found in Europe and America. In Victoria the air quality is comparitively good because of these properties. Also we must not forget the communities in rural Victoria which rely on employment from these plants. Many families some even living under the poverty line rely on the power companies as a source of income. Entering a new millenium being left with an inheritance of environmental problems, it is all good and well to point the finger at different industies, but it is evident that alot work is being done to rectify the problem, and new technologies are always being developed to produce cleaner emissions. My tip is if you wish to be a true environmentalist and help to man-kind, you must look at
issues on a more local level aswell. If you have a passion to help the society and the Earth, a comprimise must be reached and we must consider people less fortunate than ourselves.

T. Adkins from United States contributed:

Nuclear FUSION is not yet fully controlled. However, research using the NSTX reactor at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (www.pppl.gov) is getting close.
Both nuclear fission and fusion are used in bombs. Fission bombs are what we call "atomic" bombs. Fusion bombs are "Hydrogen bombs" and use a fission bomb to start the fusion reaction. Fusion only occurs at very high temperatures and pressures. However, fusion is a much more efficient source of energy than anything we have now. Roughly 5.5 lbs of the three fuels (1 lb. Deuterium, 3 lbs. Lithium-6, and 1.5 lbs of Tritium) will produce the same energy (1 gigawatt) as 9,000 tons of coal. Where the coal plant produces 30,000 tons of CO2, 600 tons of SO2, and 80 tons of NO2 the fusion reaction only produces 4 pounds of Helium.

Credits

Peco "How Electricity is Made and Delivered" Peco Energy Corperation-Energy Education
http://www.peco.com/energy_ed/index.html

"Electric Power Systems"
Encarta Encyclopedia, 1997

"Solar Power"
World Book Encyclopedia, 1980

Bibliography