Physical Principles of Solar Energy
Solar Energy
01-15-2014
Rebekah Layton
Solar Energy, a type of energy not extracted from the ground, but instead, emitted by the sun. After driving its way through several layers of atmospheres to earth from about ninety-three million miles away, the land, water, and plants soak up about half of it while the other half makes its way back into space. This type of energy is unlike any other. It comes with significant benefits such as not costing money to obtain, causing no pollution, being much safer than other sources of energy like coal and oil, and being reliable when the sun is out. With this in mind, we may wonder why we do not use this energy instead of what we are using now to produce energy – coal and oil. Unfortunately, cost and reliability become issues that cannot be overlooked and it is because of this that solar power plants are not more prominent than power plants that run off of different types of energy (What is Solar Energy). Its future remains bright, however, as its many physical principles are working to be continually improved. The sun emits far more energy than the world could ever need, but the problem lies in harvesting enough of it. There, so far, exist three different methods of collecting this solar energy. The first method is known as parabola, which is a shiny disk shaped bowl carved at a specific angle to concentrate the energy from the sun to a certain spot in it. This spot that the energy is being focused to contains a black tube filled with water. Naturally, the water becomes heated, which can then be used to create electricity. The second method is known as flat plate, which consists of a layer of glass, space, black metal, and more glass, where the space is filled with water. The sun energy that the black metal absorbs gets transferred to the water, which then becomes heated. This heated water, much like the first method, can then be used to create electricity. Both methods discussed thus
01-15-2014
Rebekah Layton
Solar Energy, a type of energy not extracted from the ground, but instead, emitted by the sun. After driving its way through several layers of atmospheres to earth from about ninety-three million miles away, the land, water, and plants soak up about half of it while the other half makes its way back into space. This type of energy is unlike any other. It comes with significant benefits such as not costing money to obtain, causing no pollution, being much safer than other sources of energy like coal and oil, and being reliable when the sun is out. With this in mind, we may wonder why we do not use this energy instead of what we are using now to produce energy – coal and oil. Unfortunately, cost and reliability become issues that cannot be overlooked and it is because of this that solar power plants are not more prominent than power plants that run off of different types of energy (What is Solar Energy). Its future remains bright, however, as its many physical principles are working to be continually improved. The sun emits far more energy than the world could ever need, but the problem lies in harvesting enough of it. There, so far, exist three different methods of collecting this solar energy. The first method is known as parabola, which is a shiny disk shaped bowl carved at a specific angle to concentrate the energy from the sun to a certain spot in it. This spot that the energy is being focused to contains a black tube filled with water. Naturally, the water becomes heated, which can then be used to create electricity. The second method is known as flat plate, which consists of a layer of glass, space, black metal, and more glass, where the space is filled with water. The sun energy that the black metal absorbs gets transferred to the water, which then becomes heated. This heated water, much like the first method, can then be used to create electricity. Both methods discussed thus
Bibliography: "Benefits." Physics SIA 08 - Solar Energy. Wikidot, 21 June 2008. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. "How Solar Energy Works." Physics SIA 08 - Solar Energy. Wikidot, 21 June 2008. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. Johnson, George. "Solar Energy." Solar Power — National Geographic Magazine. National Geographic, Sept. 2009. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. "Uses of Solar Energy." Physics SIA 08 - Solar Energy. Wikidot, 21 June 2008. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. “What Is Solar Energy." Physics SIA 08 - Solar Energy. Wikidot, 21 June 2008. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.