hey there and welcome to life noggin. by now, you’ve probably all seen solar panelsgracing the rooftops of nearby homes. these clean energy alternatives convert sunlightinto electricity that can be used to power your electronics. however, hindrances like the atmosphere andnighttime has led many people to ask the question:
Solar Panel History, “what if we put solar panels in space?†but before we get into that, let’s brieflytalk about solar panels in general. simply put, they consist of multiple photovoltaiccells that are usually made of silicon. and when photons of light strike these cells,they can give some electrons enough energy
to escape from the silicon atom. from here, due to the clever design of thecell, these loose electrons can flow in the same direction, giving us an electric current-- and conveniently giving me life. nowadays, many photovoltaic cells are ableto absorb a range of wavelengths, from the blue to near infrared. but some of the lower energy infrared photonsaren’t able to knock any electrons out, so a good portion of the sun’s radiationcan’t be harnessed by silicon-based photovoltaic cells. and on top of that, some of the incoming radiationfrom the sun is reflected back into space
by the clouds, atmospheric particles, or brightsurfaces on the ground. and even more is absorbed in the atmosphereby things like water vapor and ozone. so, since we want these panels to make useof as much of the sun’s radiation as possible and the atmosphere is preventing that fromhappening, why not just put the panels somewhere without an atmosphere? somewhere like space! specifically, in a geosynchronous orbit about35,000 kilometers above the earth where its orbital period matches earth’s rotationalperiod. and the solar satellites that may potentiallygo here are pretty wacky looking.
for example, this is sps-alpha, which consistsof a bell-shaped arrangement of mirrors that reflects the sunlight onto the photovoltaiccells. and /this/ is a design by researchers at jaxa,the japan aerospace exploration agency, which also uses mirrors. and for both of these designs, the photonshave to get converted to electricity by the cells, and then the electricity would be convertedinto microwaves, which would get beamed down to some receivers on earth, and then it wouldget converted /back/ to electricity. that’s a lot of conversions, which aren’t100% efficient. so, even though the solar panels would beable to access some more of the sun’s radiation,
the extra conversions can lessen the benefit. and that’s not even to mention the costof developing, building, and sending these satellites into space! some estimate that this could cost /billions/of dollars. that said, if launch costs could come downand if inexpensive solar panels could utilize more of the sun’s radiation, space-basedsolar panels may one day be financially plausible. but for now, it might be a better bet to justplace more solar panels on the ground and improve on them instead. but what do you think?
are solar panels in space a good idea to you? let me know in the comments below. as always, i’m blocko and this has beenlife noggin. don’t forget to keep on thinking!
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