what is solar energy?

What Is Solar Energy? - The Basics

For most people, their first experience in seeing what solar energy is comes from school, generally in the form of a calculator that uses solar cells for power. This first experience with seeing what solar energy is doesn't really show the full spectrum of what this plentiful renewable resource is capable of. To better understand this form of energy, let's take a look at what solar energy is capable of doing.

It Is More Than Just Light

It used to be thought that energy had no inherent matter of its own, but what solar energy is composed of is more than just light. That light contains tiny particles called photons, and weren't really understood much until Albert Einstein came up with a theory to explain why light was able to interact with matter, causing electrons to come loose from matter when light hit a surface. This interaction of light and matter, in fact, is what makes solar energy generate electricity in that previously mentioned calculator. When the light strikes the photovoltaic cells, the electrons that come loose are usable as electricity.

It Creates Other Forms Of Energy

Another great thing about solar energy is that the energy, known as radiant energy, can be converted to other forms of energy as well. For instance, when sunlight hits a car that's been sitting in the sun, that car grows to be very hot inside, which can be uncomfortable when you get in. But if you had, for instance, a tank of water that you wanted heated, and it was able to absorb solar energy, then you have a hot water heater that works pretty well during the day.

In the past, this was the only way to have a hot water system when there was no power to run a water heater. Today, solar energy is what campers use to heat up portable camp showers, which consist of light, clear plastic bags designed to allow solar energy in to heat water that's been used to fill the bag. Solar energy is also used in thermal power plants, which uses heat energy to create steam, which then drives an electrical generator. While more often, fossil fuels are used to accomplish this, there are plants that use solar energy to accomplish this.

It Is Renewable

Above all, solar energy is what we would call a renewable resource; that is, even if we were to use all the solar energy that hit the Earth, which is not likely the sun just keeps producing more of it for us to use. Solar energy is a plentiful resource, and one that won't run out for millions of years. So, its in our best interests to learn to harness this energy resource so we can reduce our dependency on finite resources.