domain-host-1

September 2006 Scientific American research into the future of energy through the era of carbon is dedicated. Publishers from a sobering perspective: There are several decades before hydrogen cars can banish gasoline and diesel engine trucks and cars, old shows up there, and the confusion in some way .. (Scientific American: 3) Why did it take so long for some energy technologies to move from the laboratory and industrial applications for the consumer? Having solar panels, for example.

A chain of electronics High Street in London now sells educational kits solar power to around 20th Graves, the rooftop solar panels on your home electrical appliances in large craft around 2500 sold life. Grandmother price tag for the rich, or very expensive, but at least their cars can consumers about solar technology PANELS appeared recently are taking on the shelves, so that you would forgive them, who as the new technologies. But they are not.

England during priming, as would be the World Cup has become the most famous, is a collaborator with the July 1966 issue of Wireless World from the closure of the issue of the journal. His name was D. Bollen, and provided a circuit for a battery charger with solar energy.

As he says: the ability of solar cells that convert sunlight directly into usable electrical energy is well demonstrated in satellite applications. One advantage of the solar cell is a basic true unattended operation in remote power andpromises an exceptional degree of reliability (Wireless World, 343). More than four pages presented with care, offer Bollen, a project for a circuit that one effect of the charge a battery from a solar cell. Bollen shows that something that uses a current of 2.74 milliampere hours to run 24 hours. He leaves us to guess what the application had in mind this small stream, but the team also led toy flashlight bulb for a few seconds per day.

However, the circuit outputs and the date of the mid-1966th You can talk to not let distract Bollens satellite applications. Its circuit is a million miles of space research, in fact, the simplest version of the pack in this issue of a journal, which was released worldwide between beginner and professional manufacturer of electronics.

Someone with little experience could be released a demo version of this circuit and flat in 15 minutes. And all parts were available from specialist suppliers in London and the southeast of England.
The list of providers from a variety of cell-silicon, selenium and International Rectifier. I contacted the company to find out how similar the cost of solar cells based at the time of writing Bollen.

A single cell measure about one inch by two inches cost of four dollars for 1966. In this role, Bollen describes several combinations between a cell and four, the most expensive part of the circuit between four and costs $ 16, or about $ 25-100 dollars in today's money.

World first solar car: 1912But who was from International Rectifier (IR) has returned much more interesting than the price information. It turns out that the company was the first car model of the solar system in 1912 Baker Electric in 1958. They achieved the feat of a high-performance solar panel is less than two meters long and just over one meter along the width of a small bank of solar cells.

The commercial, industrial and military have been buying solar panels from International Rectifier.
WHY lasted almost 50 years for solar panels to get to our shops?
Southface, a nonprofit organization in a sustainable way of life in the USA show that the solar cell technology useless, was the relative decline in prices, which came on the market for fossil fuels in the nineties in the competition.

But Southface think the most important operating units of the consumption of solar cells in countries like Japan can finally entering an era in solar cell production will benefit from economies of scale.
I hope so. Meanwhile, its anyones guess how long will it take for the consumer revolution, led us to destroy the energy problems.