Solar Energy
Life is sustained by the energy from the sun. Without the sun all
plants and animals would die. The sun provides 99.98% of the energy,
which naturally flows through the surface environment of the earth.
Put another way, the sun supplies 5000 times more energy than all
other sources combined. This emphasizes the importance of solar energy
to us.
Solar energy arrives at the earth at 170 thousand million joules every
second!
About 30% of the radiation energy is reflected straight back into
space. The icecaps and particles in the atmosphere form good
reflectors. It is thought that an increase in the area of ice covering
the surface of the earth, or an increase in atmospheric dust might
reflect even more radiation back into space and so cause the earth to
cool towards another ice age.
About 47% of solar radiation is absorbed and converted into heat
energy or internal energy. During the day the earth's surface is
warmed up, and during the night this energy is radiated back into
space as radiant heat energy.
About 23% of solar radiation is absorbed causing evaporation of water
from the oceans and lakes and from the land and plants. The high
latent heat of vaporization of water means that a lot of absorbed
radiant heat energy is used to convert liquid water into the
atmosphere where it forms clouds. Much of this energy then becomes
stored as a potential energy in glaciers and rivers. As the water runs
back to the sea, the potential energy is eventually converted into
heat energy.
A small amount of energy, about 0.2% of the total, drives convection
currents in the oceans and the atmosphere. Some of this energy appears
as wind power and wave power, which are forms of kinetic energy or
mechanical energy.
An even smaller amount of energy, only 0.02% of the total, is absorbed
by growing plants via a chemical process called photosynthesis. This
energy is converted into heat energy when humans and the animals do
When you stop to think about the earth we live on, you begin to realize how much of it we take for granted. The planet earth is teaming with millions of living organisms and countless mountain tops. This way of thinking could also lead you to ask the questions, “Where did our major source of energy come from?” To answer the questions, most living things depend on the sun as their ultimate energy source. Let me elaborate on that point more, what we have going on, on earth is more or less a system. A system is defined as a network of independent components and processes, with materials and energy flowing from one component of the system to another (McGraw-Hill, 2013). When describing how most living things on earth use the sun as their ultimate source of energy the following things are factored; Photosynthesis, herbivory, predation, and decomposition. Separate, it seems as though they have nothing to do with each other, but when you put them together it makes it clear how these factors are most living things sourc...
Did you ever think about where your drinking water comes from? The water that we drink was initially sea water that has undergone a scientific process called desalination. Desalination is a chemical process in which natural compounds are separated from water, making the water clean and drinkable. Traditionally, sea water is propelled through hydraulic pumps which create a flow to separate the water from the sea salt. Hydraulic pumps require certain chemicals that are harmful to humans and these chemicals sometimes are cross-contaminated in the drinking water being produced. Personally, I don’t want to drink chemicals that are threatening to my life and that cause harm to the environment. Many people would be uncomfortable if they knew what chemicals their drinking water may contain, especially if their children also consume it. The major drinking water producers should rely on solar energy to desalinate water which is a newer, cleaner, and safer alternative energy source.
Wind Energy is a viable industry that has become a valuable energy source. The energy generated from wind is clean and efficient. The wind energy industry helps to ensure that electric demands are met, wildlife impact is minimal, the environment is not devastated, as well as creates new jobs during the construction of wind farms, daily operations, manufacturing components, and exporting components to foreign countries.
Most of the people in our modern day society are beginning to realize that fossil fuels are becoming more rare and are damage our planet, this creates the need for a more sustainable form of energy. Solar energy is one of them and is becoming more and more important and will hopefully soon replace this obsolete technology.
As the world grows older, many new young inventors and scientists create new methods to make the world a safer and more sufficient place. There are many new methods for generating energy such as: wind, geothermal, biomass, and solar energy. Solar energy is the radiant energy emitted by the sun, which after being processed is used as solar power. Solar energy is also an example of electromagnetic radiation. The electromagnetic radiation travels to the earth in various wavelengths, most of which are invisible to the human eye like gamma or ultraviolet rays.
Actually, by solar cells we can change sunlight to electricity directly. Every day, the light of sun hits your roof's solar panels with photons (sunlight particles). These photons are converted by solar panel into electrons of direct current (DC) electricity. The electrons flow out of the solar panel into an inverter and other electrical safety devices. The function of an inverter is to convert the "DC" power (which commonly used in batteries) into an alternating current or "AC" power. AC is a kind of electrical power that computer, television and toasters use when plugged into wall outlet.
Solar thermal energy is dead! A solar thermal heating system can cost upwards of $7,000 to install and it most likely won't even save you too much money. This is why many people debate over whether they should use a solar thermal water heating system, because they think they are saving money, or an inexpensive traditional water heating system. A traditional heating system is a system that is powered off of electricity, gas, oil or some other fuel. A solar thermal heating system uses the energy from the sun, hence “solar”, and it turns that energy into hot water to either heat a home or to provide domestic hot water. The energy from the sun is captured by energy collectors, also known as solar panels. The water is heated inside the panels and then distributed throughout the home for use or stored in a tank for later use. The ideas behind this sound great, but in reality that is not the case.Solar thermal energy is not the best choice for home heating a home or hot water heating.
The traditional, non renewable form energy is created by fossil fuels, such as coal, gas, and oil. The process begins at a power plant (primary energy source) where, heat exerted from burnin, are transformed into electrical energy. This creates high-pressured steam to form a turbine, which allows a rotor to power the generator. There an electrical current is created through the process of induction, by spinning an electrical current and conductor around each other. There the electrical energy or voltage is sent through a series of transformers, where various circuits until it reaches a building.
The current use of fossil fuels as our main energy source has two drawbacks: their inevitable depletion and the pollution associated with combustion. These two drawbacks in addition to the growing concern of global warming has pushed for the development of more sustainable sources of energy, namely solar energy and its derivatives (i.e. wind power). Solar energy is appealing for its potential to meet all our demands, while proving to be a pollution free resource.(Bohn, 2009)
Every day the United States uses massive amounts of energy. Only about 8% of the United States’ energy needs are met by renewable energy sources. That means that eventually 92% of the nation’s energy resources will run out. Recently this problem has been brought into the public’s eye and the American people’s attention has shifted to renewable and “green” energy resources. President Jimmy Carter (1977) said that “[w]ith the exception of preventing war, this (the energy crisis) is the greatest challenge our country will face during our life time” (p. 418). There are many proposed solutions to this problem and wind and solar energy are just two renewable energy sources that could be used. North and South Dakota along with Texas have enough wind energy potential to power the entire United States, and a 140 mile x 140 mile plot of land covered in solar panels would also be able to meet this need single-handedly. (Hinrichs & Kleinbach, 2005) Both wind farms and solar panels take naturally occurring phenomenon and create electricity from it. Photovoltaic (solar) energy is electrical energy that is created using the sun’s rays. The prefix photo- means light, while voltaic means electrical. Wind energy works in much the same way. Huge wind turbines harness energy from the wind and then convert it into useable electrical energy. Both energy sources could be viable options in the future but as of now wind energy is a much better choice than solar, solar is more versatile, more efficient, and far cheaper than photovoltaic technology.
Energy is one of the most important components of economic infrastructure. It is the basic input required to sustain economic growth. In modern times, there has been an improvement in lifestyle since a better life can be translated into faster transport, faster communication and faster manufacturing processes. Considering different nations all over the world, there is direct relation between the level of economic development and per capita energy consumption. At present, this parameter for India is 300, for UK is 15 times more while for USA, it is about 30 times more. This simply proves that electricity as the most popular and indispensable form of energy be it in the thermal form, mechanical form, for lighting purposes or for transportation
BrightSource Energy’s, a solar, green power producer located in California, has the capability to power over 140,000 homes (Wells, Chediak, and Goossens 1). Electricity is a huge part in today society; however, an increase in energy price has caused a spread of research for alternative methods to produce the necessity (Storey 47). Solar energy is one of the many safe, environment friendly alternatives to fossil fuels that are expanding today (Storey 48). Environmental safety is a key issue that needs to be addressed (Storey 48). The current energy system, diesel, oil and other fossil fuels, all produce chemicals that effect the environment (Chinnammai 404). To keep the environment safe and long lasting, alternatives have been studied, solar (Chinnammai 404). Unlike our fossil fuels, solar energy is a resource that will not disappear and that the world can rely on to produce energy for the future. For these major benefits, solar energy has been considered all around the world (Chinnammai 404). Currently it is being used for small houses and jobs, street lamps (Chinnammai 404). It has not been used for big businesses for multiple reasons, and the main reason being the cost to produce the energy (Storey 48). It will take 10 to 12 years for businesses to see the effects of solar energy economically (Storey 48). Society must adapt to the use of solar energy because the positive effects on the environment and its many other benefits (Dvarioniene et. al. 2041).
Ever since the dawn of time, the sun has been a resource we cannot live
I am certain that all have heard of the terms green house gases, fossil fuels, and global warming. Have you ever questioned what will happen if nothing is done about the environmental problems facing the world today? What if I answer you that, we can merely use the power from the sun to power up our entire planet without the use of harmful energy sources, which affect our atmosphere? The power from the sun is what we call solar power. Solar power is the energy that comes from the sun as light and heat energy, and then it is later converted into electrical energy through solar panels (Nelson, 2008). This kind of power is completely free, right? Why should we put a lot of expense on other sources of energy, when there is a complete free and healthy power? It is evident that solar energy is a healthy source of energy, which will help stop global warming all together, but it is economically efficient to switch everything to solar energy. Solar energy is capable of becoming the world's future power supply because, it is renewable, eco-friendly, and extremely efficient when strategically placed.
The Earth captures around 342 W/m2 of energy from the sun. This energy is in the form of solar radiation, which the atmosphere reflects about 77 W/m2 and will absorb around 68 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. Therefore, the Earth’s surface is receiving, on average, about 197 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. This amount of energy received is roughly more than 10,000 times the amount of all energy humans consume per year. This energy can be used to produce electricity or heat. This energy source is not being used to it’s potential considering how much effort would come into effect to store and transport this energy.