hy do we waste time drilling for oil and shoveling coal when there's a gigantic power station in the sky up above us, sending out clean, non-stop energy for free? The Sun, a seething ball of nuclear power, has enough fuel onboard to drive the Universe for another five billion years—and solar panels can turn this energy into an endless, convenient supply of electricity.
Solar power might seem strange or futuristic, but it's already quite commonplace. You might have a solar-powered quartz watch on your wrist or a solar-powered pocket calculator. Many people have solar-powered lights in their garden. Spaceships and satellites usually have solar panels on them too. The American space agency NASA has even developed a solar-powered plane! As global warming continues to threaten our environment, there seems little doubt that solar power will become an even more important form of renewable energy in future. But how exactly does it work?