PV Gap

Francisco Said:

Solar Power Energy!!!?

We Answered:

(1) Solar energy is energy created using sunlight.

(2) We should use it because it's cheap, 100% non-polluting when running, and our source of sunlight is infinite (well, unless you count 5 billion years as non-infinite)

(3) Solar energy is created by nuclear fusion in the Sun. If you mean solar electricity, it is created in either solar cells (photovoltaics), or solar reflectors. Solar cells use moving electrons knocked about a circuit by incoming photons to create electricity. Solar reflectors focus sunlight onto a generator which uses an incredibly hot medium (such as liquid sodium) to drive a turbine through a heat exchanger (usually).

(4) That's pretty much how it works. It gets created, then sent out to the local and national grid, where it will eventually be used by industry, you, me, whoever else uses electricity. There are actually an number of other forms that solar energy can be used to create electricity, but at the moment these are the big ones.