The Great Inventions in the History of Solar Energy | AMS OpenMind

💡 Harnessing the Power of the Sun 💡
150 million kilometers away from Earth, there is a clean and inexhaustible energy source that could provide us with more energy than we could ever use. 🌞 How did we learn to harness it?
Humans have been using solar energy since ancient times. 🌅 In the 5th century BC, the Greeks designed their buildings to maximize sunlight, and the Romans used glass windows to retain heat. 🏛️ However, it wasn’t until 1839 that French physicist Edmond Becquerel observed small electric currents when exposing metal electrodes to light. 🔬
Nearly 45 years later, American inventor Charles Fritts created the first solar cell by coating selenium with a thin layer of gold. 🌟 Although it had only 1% efficiency, it was a groundbreaking discovery. The scientific community initially met these advances with indifference, but the explanation came in the early 20th century when a young Albert Einstein demonstrated the photoelectric effect. 📚
The next major breakthrough came from Russell Shoemaker Ohl, who discovered that adding impurities to silicon generated a strong electric current. 💡 On April 24, 1954, Bell Laboratories announced the creation of the first practical solar panel, using it to power a small toy ferris wheel and a radio transmitter. 🎡📻
Today, solar cells are used in a wide range of devices. Advanced designs and materials have made it possible to achieve over 30% efficiency, and research continues to strive for the ultimate goal: harnessing the nearly limitless energy of the sun for the benefit of our society. 🌍
A video by ‪@scienseed4294‬ for Ventana al conocimiento
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