Solar enegry?
Question:
how much power does a solar cell produce?
how is solar enegry converted to electricty to run a car?
how might solar power improve the inviroment?
how widely is it used?
why arent solar cars used more?\what r some of the most successful models of solar cars?
i need all of these questions answered please!! even if u only hav an answer to one question, please say it. thatnk you for any answers!!
Answer:
Solar power is the technology of obtaining usable energy from the light of the Sun. Solar energy has been used in many traditional technologies for centuries, and has come into widespread use where other power supplies are absent, such as in remote locations and in space.
Solar cars achieve their performance by extreme lightness of weight, and very efficient aerodynamics that force compromises that would not be acceptable in a day-to-day transportation device. Any vehicle built for passenger comfort and meeting contemporary safety standards would be much less aerodynamic and much heavier, thus requiring much more power to achieve highway speeds. Therefore, with current and foreseeable technologies it is unlikely a pure solar car will become commercially available. However, solar cars are essentially electric cars with an inbuilt recharging capability, so some of the engineering knowledge and technology developed in competition solar cars may help the development of battery electric vehicles and even hybrid vehicles. The Venturi AstroLab in 2006 was hailed as the world's first commercial electro-solar hybrid car due to be released in January 2008.[3]
The question arises as to whether, if battery electric vehicles become popular, it will be worthwhile fitting them with solar cells to extend their range and allowing recharge while parked anywhere in the sun. However, with present and near-term engineering considerations, it seems that the best place for solar cells will generally be on the roofs of buildings, where they are always exposed to the sky and weight is largely irrelevant, rather than on vehicle roofs.
One practical application for solar powered vehicles is possibly golf buggies, some of which are used relatively little but spend most of their time parked in the sun.
1. With solar cells, a photon of sunlight knocks loose an electron, producing an electrical differential.
2. Solar cells produce about 1/10 watt of power, though some are larger and some are ganged together to produce more power.
3. Solar cells are used to charge a battery which powers the car.
4. Reduction of dangerous gasoline and oil products in use.
5. Direct use of solar power is rare.
6. Solar cars have very little power, cargo capacity, and don't work well at night.
Solar heat powered cars might be a lot more efficient, but a lot heavier also.
well, I am going to tell you about a source for about 400 MW of electricity. see the link
you are asking about photovotaics, though, I am showing you how we use the heat from the sun to produce power in the desert using the Rankin power cycle.
I figure you are writing a report and this may not be the direction you want to go, but, here it is.
a new solar field near Boulder City, NV is about to come on line this year using this technology
ps, I worked on these plants
The amount of energy a solar cell produces depends on its size.
As far as I know there are no solar cars in production.
But there have been some schools that hold long distance solar car races, they are all prototype cars, the solar cells charge batteries and the batteries run electric motors that drive the wheels.
The mechanism by which solar cells generate electricity is via the photovoltaic effect, however, the process is relatively inefficient and the materials are, as yet, relatively expensive. The cost of solar energy is roughly 10x that of hydrocarbon fuel.
The power output depends on the size of the cell.
That depends on the amount of power required. At present solar powered cars are concept vehicles and therefore a standard figure is not available.
Solar power allows energy to be generated without the use of hydrocarbon power. However, it will not replace it for a long time. Our power demands are too high and the technology is too young. There are more efficient ways of utilising the solar energy. Generally solar power is used to heat water or air directly to provide hot water or heating for the home.
Solar power accounted for about 1.5GW of power generated globally in 2005. In the UK alone the generating capacity was 8GW.
Cars aren't commercially available. Try looking at some of the solar car races. These are the most efficient cars produced so far.
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