Solar cell: any device that directly converts the energy in light into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. The overwhelming majority of solar cells are fabricated from silicon—with increasing efficiency and lowering cost as the materials range from amorphous (noncrystalline) to polycrystalline to crystalline (single crystal) silicon forms. Unlike batteries or fuel cells, solar cells do not utilize chemical reactions or require fuel to produce electric power, and, unlike electric generators, they do not have any moving parts.
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Solar power plant in Tabernas desert, Andalusia, Spain. age fotostock/SuperStock
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The International Space Station (ISS) was built in sections beginning in 1998. By December 2000 the major elements of the partially completed station included the American-built connecting node Unity and two Russian-built units—Zarya, a power module, and Zvezda, the initial living quarters. A Russian spacecraft, which carried up the station’s first three-person crew, is docked at the end of Zvezda. The photograph was taken from the space shuttle Endeavour. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Solar cells can be arranged into large groupings called arrays. These arrays, composed of many thousands of individual cells, can function as central electric power stations, converting sunlight into electrical energy for distribution to industrial, commercial, and residential users. Solar cells in much smaller configurations, commonly referred to as solar cell panels or simply solar panels, have been installed by homeowners on their rooftops to replace or augment their conventional electric supply. Solar cell panels also are used to provide electric power in many remote terrestrial locations where conventional electric power sources are either unavailable or prohibitively expensive to install. Because they have no moving parts that could need maintenance or fuels that would require replenishment, solar cells provide power for most space installations, from communications and weather satellites to space stations. (Solar power is insufficient for space probes sent to the outer planets of the solar system or into interstellar space, however, because of the diffusion of radiant energy with distance from the Sun.) Another growing application of solar cells is in consumer products, such as electronic toys, handheld calculators, and portable radios. Solar cells used in devices of this kind may utilize artificial light (e.g., from incandescent and fluorescent lamps) as well as sunlight.