Solar Panel (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what a solar panel is and who invented this device. Also, how it works and what it is used for.

What is a solar panel?

Solar panels or solar modules are devices designed to capture electromagnetic radiation from the Sun for its subsequent use and transformation into various forms of useful energy, such as thermal energy (obtained through solar collectors) and electrical energy (obtained through photovoltaic panels).

These types of artifacts emerged in the mid-20th century and used to provide constant energy to satellites placed in orbit around the Earth, and then to improve the quality of life of populations far from any form of conventional electrical wiring or transmission.

Since then it has gained importance as eventual alternative to traditional forms of energy put in crisis since the end of the century due to the very high global demand for energy and the high ecological cost involved in producing it.

Who invented solar panels?

Solar panel - Vanguard 1 — The first spacecraft to use solar panels was Vanguard 1.

Solar panels are heirs of the primitive photovoltaic designs of the French physicist Alexandre-Edmunde Becquerel in 1839, although the first rudimentary solar cell was produced in 1883 by the American Charles Fritts. Although it had an efficiency of just 1%, it attracted enough attention that in 1946 Russel Ohl patented the modern solar cell.

However, it was in 1954 when Bell Laboratories discovered that silicon semiconductors were very sensitive to light allowing the manufacture of the first commercial solar cell with an approximate efficiency of 6% in that same decade, which allowed the launch of the first Soviet and American satellites in 1957 and 1958 respectively, using a solar cell design from the Hoffman Electronics company. The first spacecraft to use solar panels was the American Vanguard 1, launched in 1958.

How do solar panels work?

solar panels absorb the Sun's radiation thanks to the set of semiconductor material crystals that they are composed of: crystalline silicon or gallium arsenide, and that when connected they respond to the photovoltaic effect, according to which certain matter can emit electrons when bombarded with electromagnetic radiation (generally visible light or ultraviolet light).

These materials receive sunlight and generate an electric field which is then redirected through cables and transmitters to storage devices. Thus, the structures of the stainless metal panels are constantly exposed to sunlight, constantly capturing the thermal and/or light energy of solar radiation.

Uses of solar panels

Solar panels are used to generate heat and electricity from sunlight, in short. Depending on the case, we can talk about two types of panels:

Solar thermal collectors Solar panels through which water or a thermoreceptive liquid is circulated, which is heated with the energy captured from the sun and is then pumped into a thermos filled with drinking water, to which the transmitted heat is transferred and the cycle is restarted. This way you can obtain hot water for everyday use or to heat rooms.
Photovoltaic panels. Made up of cells that convert light into electricity and then transmit it through wiring to a photovoltaic cell or pile, which receives the generated charge and stores it, to supply electricity to its various local users.

Solar energy

Solar panel - satellite — Solar energy is key in maintaining structures and machinery in space.

Along with wind and geothermal energy, solar energy has been imposed at the beginning of the 21st century as a hope for humanity since the demand for energy is incessant in the eternal world and traditional ways of obtaining it are increasingly costly in financial and ecological terms. The burning of fossil fuels, for example, is assumed to be largely responsible for the climate changes suffered by the world in recent times, due to the high concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Thus, the installation of solar panels in homes, vehicles and even the manufacture of solar plants in desert locations seems to be the future of obtaining electricity, as long as the performance of the solar panels is maximized that we know and use today. Likewise, solar energy seems to be key in the maintenance of structures and machinery in space, for a humanity increasingly interested in the colonization of other planets and in space exploration. It is undoubtedly a technology full of future.

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