History of Solar Power: EXPOSED
Mike Walden
April 02, 2009
It may sound surprising, but solar power, meaning power that can be gained from the sun, has actually been a focus of scientists for some time. The history of solar power is in fact quite rich. In this article we will consider the historical aspects of solar power through the ages.
A long time ago people had already understood that the sun could not only provide light for their homes, but also energy to be used for other objectives as well. In fact, in France Mouchout in 1860 developed a solar engine, which was comprised of an iron vessel inside a glass enclosure surrounded by reflectors. The principle of operation was relatively simple. Heat from the sun reflected on to the iron vessel to boil the water to create steam, which then operated a rudimentary steam engine. Naturally, this procedure was quite elementary, but it was the start of much greater things.
Sometime after that, improvements were made upon it by William Adams who used 72 mirrors and was able with this configuration to triple the amount of power compared to the first solar engine devised by Mouchout. There then followed a number of enhancements made by Charles Tellier, John Ericsson, Henry E. Willsie Eneas and Shuman. All of these successively and considerably enhanced the performance of the first solar engine from Mouchout. However it was not it was still not a commercial success compared to the coal fired devices that cost less and that were more convenient to use in this period.
In the first half of the twentieth century the limitations on the stock of fossil fuel already became apparent and alternative sources of energy started to be considered. Wind and water power were amongst these alternative sources. The Tennessee Valley Authority TVA fostered the introduction of hydroelectric call power generators and in the Netherlands windmills start to be used in increasing numbers for pumping water.
The search for alternative power continued at the same time that the first crude petroleum extraction and refinery was being done in Pennsylvania. Colonel Edwin Drake invented a process where crude petroleum when introduced into a fractional column could then be processed for a number of derivative products from kerosene to petroleum. With the introduction of the mass produced motorcar by Henry Ford, the local crude oil in the United States was not able to sustain demand, and therefore crude oil started to be imported from other countries such as the Middle East where there seemed to be a limitless amount of this liquid power source controlled at that time by the Arab sheikhs. Feuding as well as external wars then called into question the stability of this power source and therefore motivated many people to search yet again for reasonable alternative power sources. With the realization that it had become important to decrease dependency on crude oil, the mind of the public was ready.
Scientists in Bell laboratories in 1953 then invented the first silicon solar cell, which was able to produce significant electric current simply by the action of the sun upon it. The scientists, Gerald Pearson, Daryl Chapin and Calvin Fuller had made the first major advance in solar power generation. There were still however challenges that needed to be addressed both in terms of technical problems and commercial problems.
Some of the issues that scientists had to resolve initially involved the expense of producing the solar photovoltaic cells. The cells at the outset cost far too much for an output that was much less than had been expected. The final benefit was being severely impacted and at the same time the process of generating electricity was expensive. Major governmental initiatives in both Japan and Germany then started to change the situation. The production of PV (photovoltaic) cells has since that time reached a phenomenal rate of growth. Japan has already begun to produce hybrid cars that run on both solar power as well as conventional car fuel , while many homes and workplaces in the U.S. are taking advantage of solar panels for heating and other electric requirements. The solar photovoltaic energy market is increasing at a massive 30 percent every year currently.
Therefore in the future , and not so far away, the creation of solar electricity power will continue to become cheaper and its use will spread further and further globally. This is a natural development as the human race leverages the natural resources at its disposition disposal to generate power and also to reduce pollution.
This article is based on the book, "Earth 4 Electricity- Renewable Energy Made Easy " by Jim Martin. Jim Martin is a researcher, inventor and home energy consultant who written dozens of home energy related articles and has been featured in ezines and print magazines, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide.
To Learn More about Jim Martinīs Unique Step By Step Solar and Wind Power System Visit: Earth 4 Electricity.
For further information visit: Portable Solar Power- Is It Worth It?
A long time ago people had already understood that the sun could not only provide light for their homes, but also energy to be used for other objectives as well. In fact, in France Mouchout in 1860 developed a solar engine, which was comprised of an iron vessel inside a glass enclosure surrounded by reflectors. The principle of operation was relatively simple. Heat from the sun reflected on to the iron vessel to boil the water to create steam, which then operated a rudimentary steam engine. Naturally, this procedure was quite elementary, but it was the start of much greater things.
Sometime after that, improvements were made upon it by William Adams who used 72 mirrors and was able with this configuration to triple the amount of power compared to the first solar engine devised by Mouchout. There then followed a number of enhancements made by Charles Tellier, John Ericsson, Henry E. Willsie Eneas and Shuman. All of these successively and considerably enhanced the performance of the first solar engine from Mouchout. However it was not it was still not a commercial success compared to the coal fired devices that cost less and that were more convenient to use in this period.
In the first half of the twentieth century the limitations on the stock of fossil fuel already became apparent and alternative sources of energy started to be considered. Wind and water power were amongst these alternative sources. The Tennessee Valley Authority TVA fostered the introduction of hydroelectric call power generators and in the Netherlands windmills start to be used in increasing numbers for pumping water.
The search for alternative power continued at the same time that the first crude petroleum extraction and refinery was being done in Pennsylvania. Colonel Edwin Drake invented a process where crude petroleum when introduced into a fractional column could then be processed for a number of derivative products from kerosene to petroleum. With the introduction of the mass produced motorcar by Henry Ford, the local crude oil in the United States was not able to sustain demand, and therefore crude oil started to be imported from other countries such as the Middle East where there seemed to be a limitless amount of this liquid power source controlled at that time by the Arab sheikhs. Feuding as well as external wars then called into question the stability of this power source and therefore motivated many people to search yet again for reasonable alternative power sources. With the realization that it had become important to decrease dependency on crude oil, the mind of the public was ready.
Scientists in Bell laboratories in 1953 then invented the first silicon solar cell, which was able to produce significant electric current simply by the action of the sun upon it. The scientists, Gerald Pearson, Daryl Chapin and Calvin Fuller had made the first major advance in solar power generation. There were still however challenges that needed to be addressed both in terms of technical problems and commercial problems.
Some of the issues that scientists had to resolve initially involved the expense of producing the solar photovoltaic cells. The cells at the outset cost far too much for an output that was much less than had been expected. The final benefit was being severely impacted and at the same time the process of generating electricity was expensive. Major governmental initiatives in both Japan and Germany then started to change the situation. The production of PV (photovoltaic) cells has since that time reached a phenomenal rate of growth. Japan has already begun to produce hybrid cars that run on both solar power as well as conventional car fuel , while many homes and workplaces in the U.S. are taking advantage of solar panels for heating and other electric requirements. The solar photovoltaic energy market is increasing at a massive 30 percent every year currently.
Therefore in the future , and not so far away, the creation of solar electricity power will continue to become cheaper and its use will spread further and further globally. This is a natural development as the human race leverages the natural resources at its disposition disposal to generate power and also to reduce pollution.
This article is based on the book, "Earth 4 Electricity- Renewable Energy Made Easy " by Jim Martin. Jim Martin is a researcher, inventor and home energy consultant who written dozens of home energy related articles and has been featured in ezines and print magazines, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide.
To Learn More about Jim Martinīs Unique Step By Step Solar and Wind Power System Visit: Earth 4 Electricity.
For further information visit: Portable Solar Power- Is It Worth It?
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