Solar Definition and 1000 Threads

Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), indirectly using concentrated solar power, or a combination. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and solar tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic effect.Photovoltaics were initially solely used as a source of electricity for small and medium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to remote homes powered by an off-grid rooftop PV system. Commercial concentrated solar power plants were first developed in the 1980s. As the cost of solar electricity has fallen, the number of grid-connected solar PV systems has grown into the millions and gigawatt-scale photovoltaic power stations are being built. Solar PV is rapidly becoming an inexpensive, low-carbon technology to harness renewable energy from the Sun. The current largest photovoltaic power station in the world is the Pavagada Solar Park, Karnataka, India with a generation capacity of 2050 MW.The International Energy Agency projected in 2014 that under its "high renewables" scenario, by 2050, solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power would contribute about 16 and 11 percent, respectively, of worldwide electricity consumption, and solar would be the world's largest source of electricity. Most solar installations would be in China and India. In 2019, solar power generated 2.7% of the world's electricity, growing over 24% from the previous year. As of October 2020, the unsubsidised levelised cost of electricity for utility-scale solar power is around $36/MWh.

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  1. NFuller

    Insights Getting Started with Solar System Imaging - Comments

    Greg Bernhardt submitted a new PF Insights post Getting Started with Solar System Imaging Continue reading the Original PF Insights Post.
  2. U

    Somewhat Complicated Thermal Problem

    Problem Description: I have a solar panel of some surface area, material, and thickness mounted to an enclosure. The panel is isolated from the enclosure at some distance with a multitude of materials (air, insulation, plastic, metal) between the back surface of the panel and interior volume...
  3. A

    I Dark Matter Size to be seen in our solar system

    Hello, My question is, how much dark matter (any of mass, volume, density, etc) would we have to have in our solar system for us to detect it? My guess is that we would detect the dark matter through gravitational lensing or the perturbation of planetary orbits. On previous posts about dark...
  4. davenn

    Stargazing Exploring the Sun: Amateur Solar Imaging Techniques

    Hi everyone This thread is for showing your images of solar activity taken with YOUR cameras, telescopes etc. That is, don't post images from SDO, SOHO or any other professional sources unless you specifically want to ask "how do they do that and what are those solar features I can see? This...
  5. J

    What's that diode in a solar panel for?

    Solar panels come with a diode like in diagram A what does this accomplish as I always hook them up like in diagram B
  6. J

    Solar panel wires shorted togather

    I have a solar panel rated 20 volts and 6 amps power comes in on 4 12 gauge copper wires 2 for ground and 2 for positive and it is 50 feet long if positive and negative are shorted togather will the wire get warm?
  7. Stavros Kiri

    Stargazing Solar Activity and Space Weather Update thread

    I am picking this up as a continuation and extension of the idea laid out e.g. in @davenn 's thread "The Sun today - 9 July 2017 - nice spot group" https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/the-sun-today-9-july-2017-nice-spot-group.919696/ See also (for continuity purposes)...
  8. R

    B Why Didn't the Earth Go Dark During Today's Solar Eclipse?

    Why didn't the Earth get dark? Apparently, even in a total eclipse the moon doesn't block out the total circumference of the sun. Is it a matter of geometry?
  9. mishima

    Stargazing Protecting Optics (not eyes) During Solar Observing

    Hi, I don't have much experience with amateur astronomy, but I was going to try and take a few shots with my Canon EOS 20d mounted on my 6" Ritchey-Chretien astrograph this Monday. The telescope was manufactured by Orion, and was a few hundred dollars so probably not the highest quality. Since...
  10. J

    I How to model Solar System formation accurately and realistically

    I've been working on a crude N-body simulator which allows N bodies of equal masses to interact gravitationally in 2 dimensions. My goal is to model the formation of Solar System. Each body is modeled as a circle with a radius as a function of its mass, in such a way that all bodies have the...
  11. P

    Can Solar Replace Oil and Meet US Energy Demands in 50 Years?

    is solar even viable way to replace oil? using just the current US joules consumption and the existing solar technology, is it possible to switch to solar if oil will run dry in say 50yrs from now? solar technology seems to be approaching some theoretical limits, somewhere around 30%...
  12. S

    Solar Thermal Optics - Concentrated Light

    Hi, Can someone start me out with creating predictable temperatures and inputs for calculations. Here is a miniature example of the type of parabolic circulated water heating devices I have been building. My first questions would be what is the potential heating energy of the sun per cm2? And...
  13. J

    How much energy is stored in compressed air?

    Hi all, My name is Jesse and I love renewable energy and finding ways of beating coal. Right now Solar Photovoltaic energy competes with coal in sunny areas during the day, but at night, you need to store the energy from solar and it's not worth it due to the cost of storage mechanisms (might...
  14. B

    What is the largest capacity battery I can charge from my 2.5kW solar panels?

    I have solar panels fitted, with a capacity of 2.4 -2.5 kW. I am considering buying lithium battery storage for evening use. What would be the largest battery system I could charge from this setup?
  15. Y

    I Particle calculation during a solar proton event

    Trying to figure out how many particles would bombard an astronaut during a solar proton event. Given that the most possible is around 43,000 particle flux units (pfu) according to NASA. First calculating steradians, assuming a person is 1m^2, 1/(1E9)^2=1E-18. My calculation yields (43000...
  16. MarkFL

    MHB Solar Eclipse 2017 - Share Your Viewing Plans & Memories

    Hello MHB Community! :D As I'm sure most of you who live in the U.S. are aware, we will be witness to a solar eclipse on the 21st of August and the path of totality will cut across the continental U.S.: I live in NE Florida, and will experience almost 90% obscurity, but I have family in TN...
  17. M

    I Solar system simulation -- Significant deviation of some Jovian moons

    I am working on a simulation of the solar system, but I am having problems with the orbits with Europa and Io shown in the image below, the orbits of Jupiter, Ganymede and Callisto are consistent with NASA's simulations. For all bodies I have used identical parameters in generating the initial...
  18. B

    How do solar cells generate current from pn-junctions?

    Looking for a practical description. I have a feeling I am grossly misunderstanding something fundamental about electric circuits and apologize if my questions are confusing because of it. I have these two sources: acs hyperphysics My (probably naive) understanding of the process is as...
  19. J

    I Calculation of daily solar insolation

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  20. J

    I Calculation of the hour angle of the Sun

    Hi all, According to the sunrise equation, the hour angle of the sun at sunset is: cos H = -tan(a)tan(d) where H = the hour angle, a = latitude and d = solar declination angle. This equation says that H at sunset = -H at sunrise. Now, I have a few questions concerning that: 1) I was...
  21. M

    I Solar system simulation errors

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  22. S

    Attaching fins behind a solar panel

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  23. P

    Solar photovoltaics: - What happens to the lost energy?

    I have a very simple question about solar photovoltaic systems. We all know that they have limited efficiency. Suppose there is a module that is 10% efficient i.e. it can convert 10% of sunlight falling onto it into electricity. I just want to know what will happen to the rest 90%? I mean do...
  24. C

    B Can Mirrored Solar Arrays Create a Continuous Ion Channel for Energy Transfer?

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  25. F

    Solar Panel Project: Will it Work?

    Hey! So I'm building raspberry pi & camera powered buy a solar panel system to make a automatic timeline of a constructing site (It needs to work for about ~9months). The rasp only needs to be on a few minutes a day to take a picture or really small video (max 1min). So this is my plan...
  26. A

    I What is the main role of doping in a solar cell?

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  27. J

    Making a solar powered battery with AC power socket

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  28. S

    Horizontal to tilted beam radiation

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  29. M

    I Solar system's path in the Milky Way galaxy

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  30. Brandon91man

    Electrical DIY Solar Power System: Questions & Answers

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  31. Sanborn Chase

    B Enlarging Planetary Orbits: Evidence of the Solar System's Evolution?

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  32. B

    Solar series battery charging problem

    I have a large array of solar panels, which are 12v panels. I have wired them two each in series to produce 24v at the array and carry that to a 24v charge controller which then connects to two 12v batteries wired in series for 24v, to power a 24 volt inverter. But I have observed a problem...
  33. Tianluo_Qi

    A Some questions about the PFSS model on IMF

    Hey guys, I am a Chinese student who is now reading the doctoral dissertation written by Mr. Heoksema, Structure and Evolution of the Large-Scale Solar and Heliospheric Magnetic Fields, for the preparation of my bachelor thesis. But some puzzles arise while reading the mathematic development of...
  34. SeaDawg

    Need help for project plans (Solar and Wind Generator)

    Hi, I'm trying to build an auto-sufficient station, this is my "blueprint" for mounting everything together : https://goo.gl/photos/4KLmhUc9EDccMPkYA and I would like to know if it was possible to calculate the voltage and intensity entering the Charge Controller without measuring it, if...
  35. Solomei

    B Our solar system and its fellows

    Hello, I am new to this forum, so be brutal :) So, I've tried to find information about Earth's origin. The nebula, cluster we are a part of etc. but i could not find the answer I was looking for. For me, it seems logical that we are a part of a cluster. How often do we find a star whos just...
  36. R

    Near solar mirror for beam propulsion and space solar power

    NASA just announced a solar probe to travel quite close to the Sun, about 3.7 million miles from the solar surface: Nasa’s hotly anticipated solar mission renamed to honour astrophysicist Eugene Parker. Renamed the Parker Solar Probe to honour solar astrophysicist who predicted high speed solar...
  37. B

    Confused with the relationship between Volts, Current, and Power

    Homework Statement For an engineering assessment (first year with no electrical background), we are using a solar panel to power an element for a distillation system. we have calculated our heat energy output requirement that we need from our heating element as being 800 J/s. For simplicity we...
  38. jack action

    B Map of Solar System: See How Far Away Planets Are!

    Isn't this the best map of the solar system you've seen? http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html It is so hard to imagine those distances.
  39. Blank_Stare

    Stargazing Solar Con? Eclipse road trip to Makanda Illinois

    I think I may be heading to Makanda Illinois, on August 21, for the Eclipse. (Where I live in Michigan, it will only be about 80% - I want the full effect...) In all likelihood, considering my age, and how mobile I may be by the next time there is a full eclipse in the US, I have decided I...
  40. C

    B Earth may owe its birth to a solar eruption

    Earth may have been born in a huge flare-up of the young sun by Ken Croswell It’s not easy to make Earth. Most of the explanations for how our planet formed have troubling problems. But if a new idea is right, we can thank a hyperactive young sun for Earth’s existence, plus solve a...
  41. M

    Sizing a Solar Array To Boil Water

    Hello, I am having a hard time deciding the size of a solar array to boil water for a school project. Before putting any thought into the subject I simply thought that I would just take the wattage of the panels and add them up since they are added in both series or parallel and then select an...
  42. W

    Thermodynamic cycle of a solar cell

    Mechanical Engineering Undergrad here: So this didn't seem explicitly like a homework question, but I was wondering how to describe a solar cell in terms of thermodynamics. If I had to model it with the first law of thermodynamics, I would consider it a simple loop of heat/work exchange...
  43. davenn

    A New ideas on the mechanism of solar CME's

    hi guys solar activity has been a love of mine since the early 1970's and am always looking out for new research info :smile: some recent studies and lots of computer animations have come up with new understandings of the mechanisms that instigate CME's and other mass ejections from the sun...
  44. Manoj Sahu

    Will this solar charge controller circuit work?

    The circuit is intended to control the charging of a 12v 7ah battery by a 10w, 24v volt solar panel.
  45. Jarro

    Stirling engine against solar panels

    Hello, Since childhood, I have been wondering why it is not possible to make miniature electric motors with pistons and gas container covered with a very dark (meaning high absorption coefficient over a wide spectral width) material that would translate the energy of sunlight directly into...
  46. sefiroths

    Java Solar system simulator JAVA source code

    Hi, I'm developing a very simple solar system simulator for educational purpose. I had taken from wikipedia mass, velocity of planet and applied universal gravitation formula and applied to all celestial corps. It works well, but when I add the moon... the moon is like a planet, rotating around...
  47. C

    What is the relationship between solar radiation intensity and lunar phases?

    Homework Statement What is the intensity of solar radiation in a place where is the full moon ? I know luminosity of the Sun and Earth's distance from the Sun RE and Moon´s distance from the Earth RM. Trajectory of Earth and Moon are circular. Homework Equations distance of the site from the...
  48. Enis

    B What are the applications of solar sails?

    I'm working on a project on solar sails, and I was wondering if you could provide me with some information. I couldn't find much on the internet, except highly technical research. In fact, even the Wikipedia article is too technical for my purposes. If you know about this stuff or have any...
  49. P

    I Maximizing Solar Heat Output with Vacuum Tubes: A Temperature Comparison

    Solar vacuum tubes are tubes covered with a vacuum jacket so that no heat can be dissipated by conduction and convection of air. By this process, we can get pretty high temperature even at very cold temperature. In this video, you can see how very temperature water can be produced by using such...
  50. J

    A Series of Exoplanets in Our Solar System

    In this alternate universe, Earth is the same as back home--8,000 miles wide, 25,000 around, six sextillion tons, orbiting a G-type main-sequence star from a distance of 93 million miles. But here, the similarities end. MOON DIAMETER--3,273 miles MASS--0.025x that of Earth DISTANCE FROM...
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