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Solar Power
We've used the Sun for drying clothes and food for thousands of years, but only recently
have we been able to use it for generating power.
The Sun is 150 million kilometres away, and amazingly powerful.
Just the tiny fraction of the Sun's energy that hits the Earth (around a hundredth of a
millionth of a percent) is enough to meet all our power needs many times over.
In fact, every minute, enough energy arrives at the Earth to meet our demands for a whole
year - if only we could harness it properly.
How it works
There are three main ways that we use the Sun's energy:-
1)
Solar Cells (really called "photovoltaic" or "photoelectric" cells) that convert light
directly into electricity.
In a sunny climate, you can get enough power to run a 100W light bulb from just one
square metre of solar panel.
This was originally developed in order to provide electricity for satellites, but these
days many of us own calculators powered by solar cells.
2)
Solar water heating, where heat from the Sun is used to heat water in glass panels on
your roof.
This means you don't need to use so much gas or electricity to heat your water at home.
Water is pumped through pipes in the panel.
The pipes are painted black, so they get hot when the Sun shines on them.
This helps out your central heating system, and cuts your fuel bills. However, in the UK
you must remember to drain the water out to stop the panels freezing in the winter.
Solar heating is worthwhile in places like California and Australia, where you get lots
of sunshine.
3)
Solar Furnaces use a huge array of mirrors to concentrate the Sun's energy into a small
space and produce very high temperatures.
There's one at Odellio, in France, used for scientific experiments.
It can achieve temperatures up to 33,000 degrees Celsius.
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