When was solar panels introduced

Over years later, in , Russell Ohl invented the solar cell, shortly after the invention of the transistor. Light photons striking certain compounds, in particular metals, causes the surface of the material to emit electrons. Light striking other compounds causes the material to accept electrons. It is the combination of these two compounds that can cause electrons to flow through a conductor.

Thereby creating electricity. This phenomenon is what we term the photo-electric effect. Photovoltaic or PV means sunlight converting into a flow of electrons electricity.

Solar power is a rapidly developing energy source in Australia and around the world. A year-old Frenchman called Edmund Becquerel, discovered what is called the photovoltaic effect, the physics behind the solar cell, while experimenting with a couple of metal electrodes. French mathematician Augustin Mouchot was perhaps the first to look for an energy replacement to coal which he believed would eventually run out.

Mouchot invented the solar steam engines using a parabolic dish to concentrate solar energy on a water reservoir. English electrical engineer, Willoughby Smith published an article describing the photoconductivity of Selenium leading to the invention of photoelectric cells. Englishmen, William Grylls Adams and Richard Evans Day discovered lighting a junction between selenium and platinum has a photovoltaic effect - the first demonstration that light can produce electricity.

American inventor, Charles Fritts creates the first solar cells from wafers of selenium. Clarence Kemp invented and patented in USA the passive solar water heater. American physicist Robert Andrews Millikan provides experimental proof of the photoelectric effect as described by Albert Einstein in Albert Einstein wins the Nobel Prize for his research dating back to and technical paper explaining the photoelectric effect. American professor, Dan Trivich was the first to make theoretical calculations on the efficiency of solar cell using different materials.

Western Electric commenced selling licenses for solar-powered technologies such as dollar bill changers and solar powered punch card decoders. Solar is successfully used in space via the Vangua I space satellite to power radios. Solar eventually became the accepted source of power for space applications and that still remains the case. Japan installs W solar array on a lighthouse - the world's largest solar array at the time. Solar cells begin to power many off-grid applications.

Paul MacCready creates the first solar aircraft and travels across the English Channel using only solar power and the wind. Australian, Hans Tholstrup, made the first transcontinental journey on a solar powered car which he called "The Quiet Achiever". He later devised the concept of the World Solar Challenge. Interested in learning how solar power compares to wind power?

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Where did modern solar power get started? The roots of modern solar power can be traced back to How did solar power get commercialized?