The History of Solar Panels
Early solar panels brought forth around 1 per cent efficiency and cost $300 per watt. If you were to generate electricity from coal, the price was between $2 and $3.
Solar photovoltaics were first used in 1839 when a French physicist, Alexandre Edmond Becquerel, discovered that light can be converted into electricity when he experimented with metal electrodes and electrolytes. In 1873, Willoughby Smith made a discovery of photovoltaic effects in selenium.
In the late 1700s and 1800s, researchers and scientists had success using sunlight to power ovens for long voyages. They also harnessed the power of the sun to produce solar-powered steamboats. Ultimately, it's clear that even thousands of years before the era of solar panels, the concept of manipulating the power of the sun was a common practice.
Silicon solar cells found their first major application in space, where the harsh environment demanded reliable, lightweight power sources that could operate for years without maintenance. In 1958, the Vanguard I became the first solar-powered satellite, launching with a tiny 1-watt solar panel to power its radio transmitters.
The first solar cell using silicon monocrystalline was constructed in 1941. Early silicon solar photovoltaic sells did not, however, have good efficiency.
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