The Sun and Renewable Energy - Coursework Example

Semi-conductors are used in photovoltaic cells to provide voltage as a result of light. The semiconductor absorbs the light thereby knocking electrons and letting them flow freely. This is a typical conversion of light to electricity at the atomic level. The sun's power originates from the fusion of Hydrogen. The proton-proton reaction produces deuterons, which are the nucleus of an isotope of Hydrogen 2 that contains one neutron and one proton as a result of the ejection of the positron and an uncharged neutron form the deuteron forms the nucleus of a deuterium which is a heavy Hydrogen (Hedegus and Luque 79). Deuteron and proton combine to form triton or Helium 3 which is an isotope of Helium. Helium 4 can also be formed through the combination of Helium 3 to form two protons and Helium 4 or a combination of triton and deuteron that produces energy, neutron, and Helium 4. The total energy yielded is 26.7MeV. This may be obtained through calculations based on the atomic mass energy of the Helium 4 nucleus (Hedegus and Luque 79)

Part of the radiation is lost to outer space through radiation as some are scattered by the atmospheric gases. Some of the heat that reaches the earth’s surface has an average intensity termed as solar isolation and ranges between 0.6 to 1.0kW/m2. This is mostly absorbed by plants as humans also harness solar energy to produce electricity (Hedegus and Luque 48).

In the production of electricity, the solar radiations are concentrated by PV cells into a silicon wafer. This is usually done through optical systems concentration may also be done through luminescence (Gratzel 6848). Solar thermal power is an option for generating electricity through solar energy. Solar power is concentrated in solar power towers and focused into a fluid that bares a fluid. The temperature increases and it turns turbines thereby producing electricity.

There are commercially available PV cells that are fixed on rooftops (Kim 66). This includes the minimization of the financial implication of the installation cost and the affectivity of the PV cells. The installation of solar panels on rooftops aids in the reduction of the cost of power as a renewable source of energy is used. This may be best done by finding the most price-convenient way of installing the solar panels.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducts continuous research on photovoltaic cells and other renewable energy sources (Solar Research). Concentrating solar radiation and facilitating solar heating are some of the key areas of research. New designs of solar panels, as well as technological developments in the solar energy concentration act as the drivers in solar energy research (Kamat 2840). There are minimal negative climatic implications of solar energy. This makes it a preferred source of power to other sources like organic fuels. Read More