History of Solar Energy
Even though most people think solar energy is a recent invention, it has been around for centuries, even in ancient times. Efforts to design and construct devices for supplying renewable energy began 100 years before the height of the Industrial Revolution. Engineers and scientists worried about what would happen to the world’s nations after using up the fuel supply. Most of the environmental visionaries realized that the potential rewards of solar power outweighed the technical barriers. Solar pioneers developed techniques for capturing solar radiation and used it to produce steam to power the machines of the era. We will explore the historical evolution of solar energy, from ancient times to modern, and learn about the contributions of the most prominent inventors of solar powered devices.
In the first century B.C., the first ideas for implementing solar power rose upon religious, military, and industrial reasons. The Chinese and the Greeks found uses for solar power in their religious ceremonies. Concave mirrors were used to relight the sacred flame of Delphi when in went out. The ancient Egyptians used the sun as part of their mummification process, in which they used the sun to dry dead bodies. This was a form of passive solar power. In 100 A.D., a historical writer by the name of Pliny the Younger built a house in northern Italy that had mica windows in one room. The mica windows stored heat and later gave it off. The additional heat generated by this room reduced the amount of wood that had to be burned.
In the second century B.C., the Romans started starting experimenting with solar power. They placed their buildings in such a way as to capture ...
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...ed their backs on the sun. In the mid 1990’s there were few incentives for solar electric homes or heating systems. Approximately, 1.2 millions buildings in the United States are solar heated.
Concluding Notes
Solar power has come a long way. From its humble beginnings in ancient times, to the sophisticated uses of the present day, solar power will most likely always be with us. Solar pioneers had the difficult task of convincing skeptics to see that solar energy was something more than a curiosity. To the general population, improving and adapting existing power technology seemed less risky than trying to establish alternative energy sources. But alternative energy sources are necessary. Solar power is so useful because as long as the sun’s rays continue to hit the earth, solar power can always be a viable means of generating heat.
H J McCloskey intelligently put his thoughts together and shared his beliefs in his article called “On Being an Athiest” addressing some key arguments discussed in atheism and theism from an atheistic point of view. He makes no apologies for bringing up a difficult topic and for trying to argue persuasively for his views. He makes a great point when he states, “…I make no apology for doing so, as it is useful for us to remind ourselves of the reasons for and virtues of our beliefs (50).” Whether a theist or an atheist we should know what we believe and why we believe what we believe. This paper will use the material recently studied in Philosophy to respond to “proofs” and ideas put forth by McCloskey in his article.
In his article, "On Being an Atheist" Mccloskey gives a few contentions that look to support the non-presence of God, Atheism. This he does utilizing a few cases made by theists on a general level and in addition centering all the more on the Christian God. The cases are isolated into a few segments whereupon he lays his countering contentions. At the presentation, he gives a concise review of the contentions exhibited by theists, who he alludes to as "confirmations," guaranteeing that none of the evidences make enough avocation to accept that God does exist. Despite the fact that one of the verifications may not indicate the presence of God, all the evidences together give a solid confirmation to the presence of God acknowledging their accord or absence of disagreement. In any case, if the presence of God is focused around such demonstrates, his verifications or complaints that God does not exist are questionable, too.
The sun has been a major aspect of life since the beginning of time. People used many other forms of energy before electricity was discovered. There has been a debate over energy resources for years. Many people are worried about what current energy resources may be doing to the environment. Oil spills and nuclear power plant mishaps have only been a few accidents that have had a big impact on the environment and the people who inhabit it. There are plenty of energy sources that do not harm the environment and are still able to get the job done. Solar energy is one energy alternative that will insure the betterment of the country and, at the same time, protect the natural environment.
In the article “On Being an Atheist” by H. J McCloskey, he tried to reason why atheism is a much more comfortable belief then Christianity. It would seem as if McCloskey grounds for his belief has little to no proof. McCloskey argues that his indisputable view given by the cosmological proof, that talks about God being perfect and powerful cannot help being solved the problem about the existence of God. Although he believes that the proofs do not provide a valid proof for the existence of God, but there is a need to provide the causes of all the existence things in the world. Mr. McCloskey reasoned against three theistic proofs, the cosmological argument, theological argument and the argument from design. These three arguments that he
In which McCloskey rejects it. This argument is like the cosmological argument; it too begins with the existence of the cosmos. It claims that because the world has complex design, this is evidence of a designer. Just as if something is carried then there must be a carrier, so if there is design there must be a designer. McCloskey implies that the evidence and examples for this argument are not genuine and are disputable examples, meaning that they must not be proven wrong and opposes that certain claims are needed and irrational in the clear fact that God cannot be definite. About the teleological argument, “To get the proof going, genuine indisputable examples of design and purpose are needed, first let me state the standard he sets for the supporter of the argument is one he cannot live up to himself, so no I don’t think they are reasonable, I think his “very conclusive objection” is inconclusive. “I believe the argument here is not whether the design in the universe infers that there is someone who designed it, but whether the order and intricacy in the universe does represent design. Throughout this article McCloskey stresses the fact of the existence of evil, he addresses the idea that suffering and evil is contrary to the idea that there is a perfect all powerful God. Why would a perfect person create a world of suffering
The existence of God has been a topic of controversy for centuries. In 1968, the article “On being an Atheist”, was written by H.J. McCloskey discussing his personal views and reasons, as an atheist, for not believing in the existence of God. McCloskey attempts to discredit the arguments for the existence of God. In doing so, he critiques the cosmological and teleological arguments as well as discusses the presence of evil and suffering in order to show sufficient evidence to reject the belief in God.
Wilhelm Hallwachs discovered that combining copper and cuprous oxide produced a photosensitive material in 1904. In the next year, Albert Einstein completed his work on the photoelectric effect and presented his paper on it. However, it was William G. Bailley of Carnegie Steel who created the present basic design of the solar panel consisting of copper coils and an insulated box. The period after the Second World War saw increased demand for solar power as energy needs went up and supplies could not keep up. There was an explosion of passive solar buildings in the country and that spurred more investments into the solar industry. It was at Bell Labs that the silicon photovoltaic cell was developed by Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson. It was the first cell that stored enough energy to run contemporary electric
Using the sun for its heat and energy is not a new idea. It has been around for thousands of years. The first record of sun being utilized for energy and heat dates back to 400 BC. The Greeks designed their buildings and oriented their houses to utilize the sun during the winter and obscuring its hot rays during the summer. The Romans then continued on with harnessing the suns energy by developing window glass that allows the sunlight to come in, but traps solar heat. The Romans even put the sun in their legal system as to make sure that every house had so much access to the sun.
About half of all American adults and about one-quarter of all American children are obese or overweight.(Schlosser 240) Those stats have risen steeply during the last few decades, along with the growing number of people eating fast food. The obesity rate among American adults is twice as high today as it was in the early 1960’s. (Schlosser 83-86)
United States policy and legislature developments regarding solar energy include the SunShot Initiative, the American Recovery and Rehabilitation Act (ARRA) of 2009, and the Energy Improvement and Extension Act (EIA) of 2008. The SunShot Initiative was enacted in February 2011 and aims to “make the total cost of solar energy fully economically-viable for everyday use, so that all Americans can benefit from this clean renewable energy source.”1 The ARRA invested $114 million into the solar energy industry for the research and development of photovoltaic systems, solar power concentration and high penetration solar deployment.2 The ARRA and EIA created tax credits for homeowners and businesses for their investment in solar power.3 The implementation of these policy and legislature initiatives promote the growth and development of the solar energy industry and therefore positively impact Sun Edison.
“The Story of an hour” by Kate Chopin, is unique in its kind. The plot is as if M. Night Shyamalan might have written it. There are only four characters in the controversial story; they are, Mrs. And Mr. Mallard, Josephine, and Richards. Though this is a short story, every characters plays an important role. As the story unfolds it takes the reader down one road but in the end the reader finds him or herself facing a whole new direction. Comprehending a story is important, but in this story the reader must understand the underlining meaning that makes this story unique.
Rotman, David. "Finding a Solar Solution." Technology Review 2 (2012): 48-51. Print. 22 November 2014.
Siegel, RP. "Solar Thermal: Pros and Cons - Part 1: Solar Heating and Cooling." Triple Pundit RSS. N.p., 21 May 2012. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. .
Household energy conservation is a very practical and realistic approach to conserving energy within our society. US households consume a tremendous amount of natural gas as well as electric energy. It has been calculated that the amount of energy consumed within the US increased exponentially from about 1850 to 1975. If energy continued to increase at this rate, we would be experiencing severe energy shortages in our current society. Luckily, steps towards conservation, including various energy regulations, have curbed that growth somewhat, brining the predicted 160 Qbtu/yr for the year 2000 down to around 93.8 Qbtu/yr by the year 1996. However, household energy usage is still a major issue as households consume about 38% of the total consumed energy and contribute greatly to natural gas consumption and issues such as global warming. Therefore, it is important that people understand how we use energy in the household and what steps can be taken to conserve that energy.
Kate Chopin, an U.S author of many short stories and novels in the late nineteenth Century. Most of her best-known work focuses on the lives of sensitive, intelligent women in the old strict society. “The Story Of An Hour” is one of her short fiction, which was written in 1894 (Shmoop Editorial Team). This fiction story makes the reader curious through its title, also the setting is reasonable for situation happens, in addition the unexpected ending is one of the factors make the story more interesting.