The Importance Of Photovoltaic Cells

Photovoltaic cells are used to convert the energy of the sun directly into electricity. Anyone could use photovoltaic cells to create energy; however, it does and can take up a large amount of space. The technology could be used in all areas, in rural and urban settings. Edmund Becquerel (a French physicist ) first acknowledged the photoelectric effect in 1839 when certain materials were producing small electric currents when exposed to light. Albert Einstein is responsible for enlightening us upon the topic of the photoelectric effect and the nature of light on which the photovoltaic technology is based. The first photovoltaic module was constructed by Bell Laboratories in 1954. However, due to the high expenses it was not a widely used energy

Areas in northern Africa, for example, would do very well with photovoltaic energy. However, Germany, an area well up in the green is the world’s leader in photovoltaic energy. It has 37.45GWp installed capacity and solar PV accounts for 5.3% of the country's electricity consumption 3. This goes to show that it is still effective under the clouds, but of course, it would still do a lot better when in direct sunlight.

2-Science-based solution

The following paragraphs are an amalgamation of sources 5-9. In one photovoltaic cell, of which many are used to create an array, there is a ‘semiconductor’ (a midway between a conductor and an insulator, not good at doing either the job of a conductor or an insulator hence the ‘semi’ meaning half) where the light that strikes the cell is converted into electrical energy when a partial amount of the energy from the sun is absorbed by the semiconductor (making it an endothermic process). In other words, this energy has been transferred into this semiconductor allowing for the loosened electrons to flow freely, thereby generating a current. This current is controlled by the multiple electrical fields in the cell. By attaching metal contacts to either side of the cell, we can harness the produced energy for external purposes, much like a normal

The loosened electron (same as all the others) will then be transported through the diode into the negative side leaving more and more openings for electrons in the positive side, creating an even greater disruption in the electrical neutrality, ie. the ratio of electrons on one side compared to the other, and the amount of openings available compared to the amount of electrons in one area. If an alternate path is provided leading from the negative side to the positive side through which all of the electrons can flow, a current can be generated and during the electrons’ journey from the negative to the positive side, the electrical current can be used for external electrical power.

This creates a kind of race track, with the positive side being a pit stop where the electron connects and is then released to and from an atom and is then pushed through the diode where it has no option but to travel through the alternate path allowing us to harness the energy, and so the process repeats for as long as it is receiving the photons to release the electrons. This shows that the current generated is dependant on the sun’s energy, because without it, the electrons would not be energized to detach and find a way to