Solar Definition and 1000 Threads

Yesterday I had a bizarre idea. I supposed that a black hole (which I assumed to be a sufficiently dense sphere) became our sun. I know this is completely wrong, but please humor me and see what I've done. Suppose we have a sphere sufficiently dense, so that the Schwarzschild radius, r_s, is...

This problem is actually an example I'm working through... 1. Homework Statement We are trying to estimate the (magnitude of the) electric field in the light waves from the sun hitting the surface of the Earth. Homework Equations The Poynting vector for a sinusoidal EM wave has magnitude...

I saw it yesterday. I live in the Pacific Northwest, which was clouded over. But at about 2:45 - 3:00 PM PDT, at local maximum eclipse, there was a break in the lower clouds, and I could see the Sun through the upper clouds. It was rather fuzzy-looking, but I could see a bite out of it from the...

Homework Statement You would like to put a solar hot water system on your roof but your not sure if it's feasible. A reference book on solar energy shows that the ground level solar intensity in your city is 800W/m^2 for at least five hours a day throughout most of the year. Assuming that the...

How does the crystalline structure of silicon make it useful in solar panels? Why is carbon not used?

What is current state of the solar cycle?

Hi guys, So, I'm a bit of an entrepreneur working on a social solar (small scale) endeavour in developing countries. However, I am wanting to build a sustainable company from standing out from the crowd in the solar industry. I'm just wondering if any of you have had experience with solar...

Hi all, I have been asked to contribute material for a presentation at my daughters school. The subject is alternative energy via solar methods and several other parents have already selected the obvious platforms (photovoltaics, CSP, etc.) and I thought solar updraft towers would be kind of...

Homework Statement How much percent can CPVs (Concentrated Photovoltaic cells) convert solar energy into electrical energy? Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution According to this page, "http://www.benefits-of-recycling.com/solarenergycars-2/ ", 20% of solar energy is converted into...

According to both NOAA and Wikipedia, an X1 Class solar flare produces 0.0001 watts of energy per square meter, or greater. Therefore, an X45 solar flare would produce 0.0045 watts of energy per square meter. However, that cannot be correct. That is too absurdly small...

Homework Statement For my ongoing project, I'm thinking of using Solar panels and Regenerative braking system as two main sources to charge the batteries that will run the motor and in turn the accessories of the car. Homework Equations I've to think of how can the above sources increase the...

Hi, Does the solar system spin around an axis as it travels through space, much like a planet rotates as it orbits the sun and if it does where is the axis point. I know the solar system is orbiting the centre of the galaxy, I was just wondering if it behaved like a planet because things tend...

Is electricity produced from solar cell because light has electric and magnetic fields?

Say you have to power a simple motor with a solar panel, but that panel does not always supply the necessary power. What is the simplest circuit that could combine a DC motor, Solar panel and battery backup to ensure that the motor will continue running even when the solar panel cannot supply power?

Many suppliers of solar systems give power ratings in terms of kW. However, how should I size the system for loads whose PF is not unity? I am specifically concerned about the solar panels. Should the panels' kW rating be matched with the load's kVA rating? Thank you

I have project in which I have to come up with the ideas of improving the efficiency of a car (electric). For now I'm considering a hybrid electric car that has more than one power sources to run a vehicle. I came up with an idea that building solar panels on the roof of a vehicle can be one of...

Hey folks, Sorry if this is a boring topic or if it's posted in not the best subject but here goes. I'm working on a solar-power related project and will have a display set up indoors. The cells are rated at up to 10V and 150mA. Under ambient artificial light we can get the voltage...

Does anyone believe that the solar system has a second star? There is a theory that the solar system has a second, larger star called Nemesis. It has an oval shaped orbit around the sun, curving very close to the sun and then traveling 1 light year away, interrupting the asteroid belt...

Hi, So I trialed a 400W grid tie inverter which I had laying about to experiment with lowering the amount of energy the house is drawing from the grid with a single 100W solar panel I have on the roof to charge some batteries. I have a "smart meter" which measures how much power the house is...

I'm trying to create a chronological timeline of the formation of solids in the solar system with examples of meteorites for each step. Let me know if this order looks right. First solids condense in the solar nebula (Calcium aluminum inclusions in carbonaceous chrondrites). Chondrules rapidly...

Hello everyone, my question is: Would be ok to use a self locking gear like a worm gear for a solar tracker system on a 2 ton parabolic mirror dish? Would it be necessary some kind of brake system, or the worm gear would be enough? If so, are there any type of self locking gears besides the...

Hello everyone, I'm new here. I'm a space engineering student and every time I learn something 1000 new questions come to my mind (as usual with science!). Most of my education was from an industrial (practical) point of view, so I feel very, very curious about the science behind the...

Homework Statement I have attached the problem as an image and they are same as below. The collector-receiver combination tested above is chosen for use in a solar thermal power plant. plant consists of 100 rows of collector-receiver modules. For the receiver efficiency use the value...

Homework Statement Hello Guys :) I have been studying neutrinos this term in physics and have been trying to calculate the neutrino flux on earth. I have found an equation but I am just unsure about what the variables in the equation stand for. Homework Equations F = N/(A t) = E/(A...

I am looking to make my own parabolic solar trough but find some terminology used confusing: What do the phrases "single target", "two target", and "three target" mean in the context of evacuated solar tubes? Example links of the phrases in use are provided below! • general search for...

I see this comet being chased by ESA, they said it is presently about 500 million km from the sun. That puts the radiation received by that comet at about 10% (roughly) as what we receive on Earth, well at least on top of the atmosphere, at 1355 watts per meter ^2. Looking at the size of...

Hi All, Please forgive me as its a few years since I did my A-Level Physics. However I am now a retail designer and just trying to figuring out how to light a shop window using Solar Power. I'm pretty sure its not possible but I am determined to do the maths to prove that its not. I need...

Think about this hypothesis: Solar activity changes the distribution of mass on the sun. This change could move the center of mass of the sun, unless the distribution were symmetric. This would move the center of mass away from the center of rotation. This would cause a fluctuation in the...

My base understanding of the solar cell is as follows: Light hits metal in solar cell and emits electron via photoelectric effect. There is n-type silicon which has an overall negative charge due to excess electrons. There is also p-type silicon which has an overall positive charge due to a...

Imagine somewhere far within the solar system there was an exact copy of our solar system (Proportional). But the overall proportion was increased by 100. Imagine a supergiant star/sun with a proportional planets to that of our solar system. So in theory the people would look like giants in...

Hello, I am choosing glasses for a novel solar cell design, and part of the criteria is if the glass will be able to withstand hail and other things (?) falling from the sky, since this glass will be the cover glass for the entire solar cell. I can gather information on the glass including...

If you guys still haven't heard by now, Earth narrowly missed a solar storm by a week on July 2012. Let's say the storm happened earlier on July 16th, in which we'd be directly hit. How different would our lives be? Where would we be today...

Hello I am trying to fabricate a Si reflecting solar cell. When a Solar cell is exposed to radiation and connected to external circuit, the current will start to flow through the circuit. So I want to know how does the Reflectivity of silicon change with the current( or conductance).[...

I wanted to find out the difference between a supernova, and the energy it would take to blow up the Solar System. This guy: http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2001-11/1004909251.As.r.html Says it would take the equiv of 5.09x 10^37 Tons of TNT to blow up the Solar System...

Hi everyone, I am working with a solar cell realized with a metal-semiconductor junction. I need to find an expression for the short circuit current of this solar cell, but in the literature I have only found models for the standard case of a pn junction solar cell. Does anyone know a...

Is there a way to determine the amount of current that can be drawn from a solar panel based on the voltage? Say you have a 100 Watt solar panel. If you measure 24 volts and then later 20 volts can you say anything about the current being produced? P = IV but if there is no load...

The Martians were able to see the planet Mercury transit the solar disk on Jun 3rd if they used Curiosity's telephoto Mast Cam. Can also see the sunspots. See JPL's link: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-183 Creator

I read there are transparent solar panels which are also flexible, Then I read carbon base solar panel. Then sun capture that concentrate to panels like other fresnel lens or dish like. Then there is this idea that people can print out their own flexible solar panels with photovoltaic ink...

I have an airtight container, the "hot-box", filled with air from outside. I close the two valves to the outside air, and let the sun heat it up. Once it reaches a certain temperature/pressure: I open/unlock a one-way check-valve that leads to a shaded/water-immersed coil of copper tubing...

Hi, With today's technologies, if our exact solar system were at a few light-years from us, could we detect its planets ? /Nico

why do we make composites with graphene oxide not with graphene ? if there is a problem to do composite with graphene ?

I had an idea about how to make an almost all metal solar still. Here is my idea: Take metal and shape it into a wide and shallow bowl. Put an insulator on both sides of the metal so that the heat stays inside. Take some pipe and put it above the bowl. Take coiled pipe and put it in a metal...

I am working on simulation and calculation of solar charge controller for lead acid battery..I simulated two solar panel in parallel along with switched capacitor dc-dc boost converter which is basically voltage doubler and it is working properly but now I need 12V on output of this boost...

Homework Statement The solar constant, the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth per unit time and area above the atmosphere and an element of area perpendicular to the direction from sunlight is 1.36 kW / m². For an element of area whose normal makes a angle q with the direction of...

Hi, I'm trying to find equation for an amount of solar energy that given place (of some latitude) on Earth's surface receives during a given day. I know it can be derived by using basic geometry, but I just need it for some application and don't want to waste time and risk mistakes. So if you...

http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/9/5/055004/article http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27406358# Activity on the Sun is sparking lightning strikes here on Earth, a study suggests. The finding was surprising, said Dr Scott, because it had been thought that an increase in the...

Hello everyone, Firstly thank you for taking the time to read this! I am a complete electrics beginner, so forgive anything stupid I say. I'm also typing this on a phone, so sorry for the odd nonsensical word! So here is what I am trying to do: I have a small greenhouse, the plastic kind...

I'm working on research into the feasibility of separating out the infrared rays above 1200 nm in sunlight for solar power generation. Since silicon cells do not effectively harness these wavelengths, we are experimenting with using interference coatings and a wave guide to separate these waves...

What is the highest efficient solar cells out there? I heard there was one that is 80% efficient. And there is a clear solar cell but less efficient which are transparent ones.

Hi everyone, I have not designed a circuit for, well, decades now, so I’m hoping you can provide me with a bit of guidance. I have a solar power system with a 48V battery array. (System also includes an inverter [AC->DC + DC->AC], backup generator, solar panels, charge controller, etc..)...