Solar Panel Breakdown

Today, I will be giving you the quick run down on solar panels, how they work, what some of their many uses are, and some interesting facts regarding solar energy. Solar panels use heat energy from the Sun's rays disturb and release electrons in the panel. The way this is done is the solar panel is made up of a neutral material, silicone which doesn't release many electrons under extreme heat, and by adding a material like phosphorus to the mix which does easily release electrons easily, when the few electrons are released, they will have no where else to go. Solar panels have 2 layers like this with a barrier in between them to insure the electrons do not find a home on the other layer. When the electrons are released, they only have one direction to go, and that is into the conductor, usually copper, where the electrons then flow through the conductor into whatever is being powered. This is only a very simple explanation on how solar panels work. But if you would like some more information on this topic, I would recommend the How Stuff Works article on solar panels. Today, solar panels are used in many applications. They are used in everything from calculators to road signs to powering your home to NASA satellites. The applications for solar panels are almost limitless. In fact it is probably the form of energy available because solar energy is free and the sun won't stop shining for another 5 billion years. The sun gives off so much energy that if we collected just one hour of the suns rays, it produce enough electricity to power the world at its current energy consumption rate for a year! If you have any comments on this post or any of my other blog posts, please comment below or contact me via email. Thanks for reading!