Know Solar Energy History for Glorious Future

Energy is behind all accomplishments of the mankind. Be it ploughing land or setting foot on moon, every process requires energy in different forms. Human civilizations have harnessed energy from various sources and put to good use from early times. The survival of humankind depends on proper utilisation of resources and sustaining it for the future generations. However, as the needs are rising the attempts to meet the demands has led to depletion of resources and has forced the thinkers for finding alternative sources, which can replenish itself after use.

According to the great physicist Albert Einstein, mass can be converted to energy and thus the solar mass is so large that it will take billions of years for it to completely extinguish. Thus, solar energy can serve our problems and the solar energy history is important to understand its implications on future.

When we start thinking about the solar energy history, we conclude that it was never a new source as all religions and the sun influences civilizations. In Greek civilizations, sun gods Apollo and Helios are prayed and many ancient temples are still present standing the test of time. The pagan religion worshipped the mother earth and considered sun as the life giver. Still today, the Hindus offer water to the sun for blessings and to make their lives glorious. There are numerous sun festivals in various parts of world to mark the arrival of summer season. Therefore, sun is an integral part of our lives and solar energy history only confirms it.

Solar energy is harnessed from the various solar panels containing solar cells. solar energy history suggests that they were built during the early 1900s with low efficiency and have improved over the years to become economically viable. The first discovery of selenium as a photosensitive material was made during the 1850s but lacked support from the industrialists for further research.

At Bell laboratories, few scientists accidentally discovered the semiconducting behaviour of silicon and using those facts a solar panel was made which had an efficiency rate unsuitable for mass production. Many big companies have tried to set their foot on the solar power generation but they have failed owing to energy demands and high cost of maintenance.

Solar energy history was enriched by the use of solar cells in the space programs, as solar energy is freely available in space without any obstacle. Windmills and biomass are also forms of solar energy and are used widely all over the world to generate clean power. Solar energy harnessing has a come a long way from the first solar cell made for public use in 1956 to the widely used water heaters at home and has the potential to develop tremendously in years to come.