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Solar Cell and Photovoltaics Inventions and Discoveries 1839: A. E. Becquerel, French physicist, discovered the photovoltaic effect. 1873: Willoughby Smith, English electrical engineer, finds that selenium shows photoconductivity. 1887: Heinrich Hertz, German physicist, first to observe the photoelectric effect - electrons are emitted from matter as a consequence of their absorption of electromagnetic radiation such as visible light or ultraviolet radiation.. 1883: The first working photovoltaic cell was built by Charles Fritts, American inventor, who coated selenium with an extremely thin layer of gold to form the junctions. The device had very low efficiency. 1888: Aleksandr Stoletov, Russian physicist, built the first photoelectric cell based on the external photoelectric effect (photoelectrons emitted from surfaces as a result of light radiation) discovered by Heinrich Hertz earlier in 1887 (see above) . 1902: Philipp Lenard, Hungarian-German physicist, observed the variation in electron energy with light frequency - the rate at which photoelectrons are leaving the surface of the photoemissive material. 1904: Wilhelm Hallwachs, German physicist, demonstrates a copper and copper oxide semiconductor-junction solar cell. 1934: Clarence Hewlett, American Inventor, patented a cadmium selenide (CdSe) photoelectric cell. 1946: Russell Ohl, American engineer, patented the first modern junction semiconductor solar cell. 1954: The first silicon solar cell was developed at Bell Laboratories by Daryl Chapin, Calvin Souther Fuller and Gerald Pearson. 1958: Ted Mandelkorn of the U.S. Signal Corps Laboratories, creates silicon solar cells, which are more resistant to radiation damage and are better suited for space. 1958: Vanguard I, the first solar powered satellite was launched by the U.S. 1960s: Cadmium telluride photovoltaics were developed by GE, Kodak, Monosolar, Matsushita, and AMETEK. 1970: The first highly effective gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar cells are created by Zhores Alferov and his team in the USSR. 1973: Elliot Berman and Solar Power Corporation (SPC) produced panels at $10 per watt in comparison to $100 per watt only a few years before. 1991: Michael Grätzel, Swiss chemist, invented the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) (Grätzel Cell). 2007: Nanosolar, American developer of solar power technology, introduces the first cheap (less than $1/Watt) commercial printed CIGS (Copper indium gallium selenide) solar cells. 2008: New record achieved in solar cell efficiency by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) which have set a world record with a photovoltaic device that converts 40.8 percent of the light that hits it into electricity. Glossaries Glossary of Photovoltaic Terms - Go Solar Company Photovoltaic Glossary - pvresources.com Photovoltaic Glossary - Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) Solar Lexicon - The Solarserver Science Fair Projects and Experiments Solar Cell, Photovoltaics, and Panel Fair Projects Photovoltaics: K-12 Experiments, Labs, Background Information General Solar Cell and Photovoltaics Resources Solar Tribune: Solar Energy News, Analysis, Education Solar Calculator - find out the possible output of a photovoltaic system Swimming Pool Heating - DOE Solar Panels - EERE Energy Story - California Energy Commission Solar Energy Information for Research - Make It Solar Solar Energy: Energy from the Sun - DOE Introduction to Photovoltaic Systems - InfinitePower.org About Photovoltaics - Bot Productions IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme How A Photovoltic Cell Works - about.com Answers for Older Kids - Solar Energy International Answers for Younger Kids - Solar Energy International How Solar Cells Work - ThinkQuest How Solar Cells Work - HowStuffWorks Photovoltaics - EERE Photovoltaic Fundamentals - Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) PV Power Resource Site - Mark Fitzgerald, Science Communications, Inc Photovoltaics: Theory and Practice - The Solarserver Related Subjects Renewable Energy Solar Cells & Panels Solar Thermal Energy Solar Cookers Fuel Cells Solar Water Purification & Distillation |
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