Ever
since the Homo
sapiens appeared on this planet some 300,000 years
ago, they were overawed at the sun’s radiant glare and
started worshipping it more out of fear than of
reverence. The sun-god was idolized principally as a
pagan God than anything else. In ancient Hindu religious
ceremonies as well as in Vedic verses, the sun was
regarded as an immense source of ethereal energy and
addressed as “…pronatoshmi
Divakara” which means, Hail thee Sun: here are my
salutations for you. The sway of the sun also influenced
many religious beliefs shared by the Aztecs of Mexico,
the Incas of Peru, the Druids of England and many Native
American tribes. But the sun is much more than
that.
Apart
from the religious beliefs, the sun’s energy has
enriched us with fossil fuels created through its light
energy that had transformed plants, weeds and
phytoplankton submerged in the earth’s folds for
millions of years into coal, oil and natural gas that we
use today.
But
times have since changed though the energy of the sun
hasn’t. Today we are not awed by the brilliance of our
nearest neighbor star but try to harness a part of that
energy to our benefit. The solar energy is no more
considered only as a means to dry our damp clothes but
also as an energy that can produce electricity through
Photovoltaic cells and other means. Surprisingly enough,
the solar energy is also transformed into wind energy
that runs turbines to produce electric current. But that
is a different cup of tea. Incidentally, the sun as well
other star forms are also responsible for most of our
primary energies. Even nuclear energy evolves from a
star as uranium atoms that are used in nuclear energy
were created by the vehemence of an exploding star.
In
the earlier days, the sun’s heat energy was largely used
to warm up water and various methods were adopted for
doing so. One of the devices consisted of large mirrors
that reflected the sun’s rays on large receptacles
containing a fluid or plain water. As the concentrated
solar heat reflected by the mirrors caused the fluid or
the water to boil, it was transported to various areas
where hot water was needed. Of course, simpler methods
merely had pipes laid on roofs containing water which
automatically got heated when exposed to bright sunlight
for extended period of time.
Solar
energy can also be utilized to generate electricity
without the aid of photovoltaic cells as has been done
near
There
are a few personalities the names of who needs to be
mentioned here for their research into ways of
harnessing solar energy and using it for the benefit of
mankind. Calvin Fuller, Gerald Pearson and Daryl Chaplin
of Bell laboratories had revolutionized the use of solar
energy by discovering silicon as a semiconductor used in
the making of solar cells that produce electricity
direct from the sunrays.
Made
out of thin layers of silicon and other conductive
materials, solar cells are tiny square-shaped
semiconductors that generate electricity without the aid
of any moving parts. As soon as sunlight hits a solar
cell, chemical reactions release electrons, generating
current (DC). Several cells grouped together in a
cluster formation gives rise to a solar panel, which can
provide adequate electricity for a home or workplace as
long as the sun shines. This, by the way, is a clear
case of solar energy converted to electrical energy
without the help of a machine.
Here
is another fact about solar energy – did you know that
you can install a solar energy system at home yourself?
Yes it is possible provided you know a few things such
as how to select the location and set it up, where to
buy cheap parts and batteries from, how to wire the
system and last but not the least the safety
precautions. To build the solar energy system at home
for ecological and financial benefits you need to know
all this.
