Ted Ed Term 1 - Week 10

TED-Ed - Term 1 Week 10

How do solar panels work? - Richard Komp

The Earth intercepts a lot of solar power: 173,000 terawatts. That’s 10,000 times more power than the planet’s population uses. So is it possible that one day the world could be completely reliant on solar energy? Richard Komp examines how solar panels convert solar energy to electrical energy.

1. What is light?

2. What are the major physical barriers to using solar cells and modules?

3. What are the major social and political barriers to using solar energy?

4. What are most solar cells made from?

5. What is the carrier of the electric current from solar cells?

6. What from the Sun causes the solar cell to produce the electricity?

7. What creates the potential difference (voltage) in a solar cell?

8. How efficient are the normal commercial solar cells?