Sunday, May 29, 2011

Photovoltaic cells - basics

 Photovoltaics #PV# is a method in which electrical power is generated by conversion of solar radiation into direct current electricity with the usage of photovoltaic semiconductors.  Photovoltaic power is generated mainly by solar panels composed of a series of PV cells. 
Materials presently in use for photovoltaics include mono-crystallinesilicon (used in manufacturing of high performance solar cells that are more expensive to produce than their
polysilicon counterparts), polycrystalline silicon(material consisting of small silicon crystallites converted into
a single solar grade silicon), amorphous silicon (non-crystalline allotropic form of silicon; deposited in thin
films at low temperatures onto a variety of surfaces, providing unique capabilities for various electronic devices), copper indium sulfide and cadmium telluride (usually conjoined together with cadmium sulfide to form a p-n junction PV solar cell).


Here are a couple of videos for you to better understand the process:

23 comments:

  1. Everything should be solar powered :)

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  2. They just need to get effecient enough to be more cost effective then power from the grid and we would be off to the races!

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  3. if I had the money I would buy one of these, it will be so much cheaper later on in your life

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  4. Interesting... now, what is the ratio on cost/benefit.

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  5. Its too early in the morning for my brain to learn stuff! Geez.

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  6. copper indium sulfide and cadmium telluride are used to make ray-guns. You should be careful!

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  7. More people need to use these.

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  8. Solar power is becoming more and more efficient! Our country definitely needs this.

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  9. Solar cells seem fantastic, however, how efficient are they? I've heard about 30% but that seems too amazing to be true. Lets remember how much energy we are bombarded with from the sun :)

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  10. we should use more solar power to generate electricity. it is much cleaner and better for the environment

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  11. my neighbor has solar panels in his car.

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  12. solar battery is great invention but quite expensive too.

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  13. Wish I had the money to install these on my flat...

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  14. MOAR high tech green solutions.

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  15. I never knew how photovoltaic solar panels work, but now I think I have a better understanding! Thanks :D

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  16. I want my house to have does panels, solar energy and geothermic are the way to go.

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  17. i love the solar panel plants that move with the light and also provide shade for cars, now THAT is a brilliant invention.

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