Links to Information about Solar Energy

Illinois Solar Energy Association:  Seeks to provide education and resources through monthly meetings, sponsored events, expositions, and competitions. Site features educational articles, newsletter, rebate program information and links.
Independent Step-By-Step Guide To Purchasing A Solar Energy System – Solarbuzz:   
Indirect Forms Of Solar Energy:   
Industry Development Strategy For The PV Sector:  by Eric Ingersoll, Daniel C. Gallagher, and Romana A. Vysatova
Insolation (Solar Radiation) Data Base 30 Year:  Database of actual measured solar radiation for hundreds of US cities over a 30-year period. This is the standard database for figuring nearly all-solar electric systems.
Inspira:  Custom design, prototyping, manufacturing and testing of equipment for the solar energy industry.
Institut For Solar Technology SPF:  A research and testing institute for thermal solar energy. Main specialties: collectors, systems, materials and software to calculate and optimize collector system properties. [German, English, French, Spanish, Italian]
Institute For Sustainable Power:  nonprofit corporation, organized to provide a quality framework for the accreditation of training programs.
Inti Tech:  Solar energy system consultant specialists in AC/DC photovoltaic hydroelectric power generation. Offers alternative energy solutions for electricity production, water delivery, communications and remote living applications.
ISECO Solar Energy Co  Ltd :  Providing solar water heating systems for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Includes a list of completed projects.
ISES 2005 Solar World Congress:  Links to call for papers, preliminary schedule for 5 day International Solar Energy Society event in Orlando, Florida (USA).
ISES Italia Sezione Dellinternational Solar Energy Society:  Associazione per la formazione e l’informazione nel campo delle fonti di energia rinnovabile e gli usi razionali dell’energia.
JC Solar House Plans And Solar Collectors:  Contains a lot of information about solar energy panels, solar hot water, and solar collectors.
Jerry Halsteads:  EV conversion of 1985 Mazda with full web based chronicle. Excellent site! 
Kangaroo Building Services:  Residential and commercial window cleaning/power washing, as well as sales and installation of energy efficient solar screens. Includes company history and references.
Kiraly Josef:  Photographs of completed solar panel home projects. Includes energy requirements. Based in Austria.
L5 Development Group:  A privately funded, for profit, space exploration and development program whose initial business plan is to build space colonies at L5 and manufacture solar power satellites to meet the Earth’s energy needs
LC Solar:  Wholesale suppliers of photovoltaic solar panels worldwide. An article on solar energy can be found along with product details, information on their use, care and warranty.
LENS:  Low Energy Neutrino Spectroscopy aims to measure the solar neutrino spectrum at low energy in real time.
LH2com Hydrogen And Liqud Hydrogen Energy Resources:  Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) or Hydrogen Energy website. Chat with like minds on our bulletin board. Search manufacturers, inventors, investors, fuel cells, energy, wind, solar, cars, international news.
Lino Apontes:  site to informs Puerto Rico locals about solar energy.
NEW  Living on Solar Energy: We have created this site to show how we are living on solar. We have made and will be making solar videos that can be watched through this site showing the various ways that we use the sun to provide for our energy needs.
Low Temperature And Solar Stirling Engines:  Stirling engines that demonstrate the conversion of unconcentrated sunlight or low temperature heat into mechanical energy. These engines are suitable as demonstration models in schools and universities.
Manytracks:  Information about homesteading, organic gardening, self-sufficiency, seed saving, solar energy and recumbent bicycles.
Metcalfs Solar Power And Light:  Details about a home solar photovoltaic system in Glendale, California. 
Methods Of Producing Energy Out Of Solar Heat :  from the Polytechnical College of Esslingen, Germany.
Mexico Solar:  Offers design, installation, and maintenance of solar energy home heating and water heating devices.
Michael Bott:  BP Solar 1.7Kwh system installed and commissioned on 6 Jan 2005. I have been monitoring the systems output daily and placing system output data on the site. 
Michael Klemen:  my renewable energy experiences including lots of real life wind turbine/PV data and service histories for 9 different turbines are here.
Michael Macfaden:  A residential grid-tied PV system install with a live 24-hour production report.
Microsolar:  manufacturer and exporter of multi-valve solar water heating systems and solar panels for residential and industrial applications. 
Million Solar Roofs Solar Technologies: Solar Hot Water :  This site provides information on the US Department of Energy’s sponsored Million Solar Roofs Initiative. This initiative will enable businesses and communities to install solar systems on one million rooftops across the United States by 2010.
Mobile Solar:  Specializing in wireless energy such as solar cells/chargers, flashing antennae and phone accessories.
Moscow We Have A Problem:  An interview with NASA officials about a serious accident aboard the Mir station caused when the Mir cosmonauts lost control of a resupply ship, crashing it into the space station. The collision caused a depressurization and damaged the station’s solar panels. [PBS]
MSK Corporation :   
Mystery Of Nazca Lines:  Alla Belokon suggests that the lines represent our Solar system planets as crystal structure nodes, and was built by a flow of directed energy of unknown nature from the air.
NASA Langley Distributed Active Archive (DAAC) :  Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy Data Set 
NASA SOHO:   
National Center For Photovoltaics (NCPV):  U.S. Department of Energy. Research and development, and information source on photovoltaics. Website includes a virtual library of online reference materials and photographs on photovoltaic technology, educational materials, links to commercial suppliers and other web resources. 
National Park Service Renewable Energy Applications:   
National Photovoltaic Environmental Health And Safety Assistance Center:  Information and analysis on environmental aspects of photovoltaic (solar electric) technology, including concerns about heavy metals in solder. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Natural Energy Solar Pool Heating Systems:  Solar pool heating systems, installations in California and Nevada. Ordering information, product descriptions and specifications.
Natural Energy Source:  Offers a variety of natural energy products and turnkey wind and solar power arrangements.
Nemo Solar DC Submersible Well Pumps:  Sells energy-efficient 12 and 24 VDC submersible well pumps, to be powered by battery, inverter, or directly by solar modules.
Nevada PV Pilot With Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) (Nevada PV Bill):  Pilot programs have been approved to accelerate the market development for distributed PV installations in schools, public buildings, and individual residential and small business establishments.
New Jersey Zero Energy Remodeling Project Points The Way To Gains In Residential Energy Efficiency:   
Next Edge:  Provider of energy solutions, energy efficient lighting, HVAC retrofitting, cogeneration, back-up power, and solar energy.
Noaas Solar And Thermal Atmospheric Radiation (STAR)  :   
Noaas SURFRAD Network:   
North Sun 2001 Conference:  A conference focusing on all aspects of solar energy.
Norwegian Solar Energy Society (ISES Norway):  Features contact information and links. (Most of the site is in Norwegian.)
Novasol Inc: Solar And Wind Energy:  Sales, installations, system designs.
NREL: Photovoltaics For Buildings:  includes information on photovoltaics (PV) or solar electricity for homes and commercial buildings and PV research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 
Number One Source Ltd :  Offers solar energy, passive cooling and wind energy systems including system design, procurement and construction. Includes news on current projects. Located on the West Bank.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Engineering Science And Technology Division
:  R&D organization specializing in industrial and buildings energy efficiency; energy utilization technologies; transportation analysis; solar technology; and related areas.
Optical Energy Technologies Inc :  Manufacture non-tracking concentrating solar collectors, and install and service solar energy systems. Includes product overviews and photographs.
Overview Of Solar Thermal Technologies:  an overview of the technologies for generating electricity from the concentration of solar thermal energy, this site is maintained by EREN.

Links to Information about Solar Energy

Pacific Energycompany:  Supplying San Luis Obispo County with clean burning stoves, fireplaces and solar energy equipment.
Pacific Solar Screens Las Vegas:  Product shades window blinds from sun fading and conserves energy.
Parabolic-Trough Technology :  Roadmap document recently published by SunLab (PDF format)
Passive Solar Housing:  How to build homes that use less than half the energy of conventional homes yet will fit into a typical suburban neighborhood.
Peak Energy:  Energy management consultancy, including wind and solar. Profile, services and tariff.
Philadelphia Million Solar Roofscommunity Partnership:  Find out about this collaboration of local organizations and small businesses committed to helping the five county region of Southeastern Pennsylvania contribute over 500 new solar energy installations by 2010.
Photo Voltaic Energy Servicecompanies:  Project of the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) which attempts to demonstrate a framework through which solar electricity services can be provided in rural areas of Zambia in a sustainable manner.
Photovoltaic (Solar Cell) Systems:  Producing electricity directly from sunlight.
Photovoltaic Cells:  Photovoltaic (PV) cells are devices that convert sunlight to electricity, bypassing thermodynamic cycles and mechanical generators. PV stands for photo (light) and voltaic (electricity), whereby sunlight photons free electrons from common silicon. The phenomenon was first discovered in the 18th century. The photovoltaic cells were developed at Bell Labs in 1950 primarily initially for space applications. The Hubbell telescope utilizes solar panels for its energy requirements. 
Photovoltaicscom:  buy and sell used, broken and new solar cells and panels. 
Pioneer Systems Alternative Energy Power Sources:  Wind power turbines and generators, solar electric, battery powered AC for remote sites, remote telecommunications
Policies To Support A Distributed Energy System:  by Thomas J. Starrs and Howard J. Wenger
Powersat Corporation:  Describes and promotes a concept of placing large solar cells in orbit and wirelessly transferring the energy to a receiving station on earth. 
Princeton University Physics Department:  Borexino Group. Experiment being performed in Italy designed to detect low-energy solar neutrinos.
Public Education And Professional Training:  by Larry Shirley, Shawn Fitzpatrick, and Chris Larsen
PV Web:  Information about photovoltaic power and solar electricity from the British Photovoltaic Association, which supports development of these technologies in the UK. 
PVACCEPT | Photovoltaics Research Project:  PVACCEPT is a European Union funded German-Italian research and demonstration project. It aims at designing and developing marketable solar modules for electricity generation. 
PVTEC:  Photovoltaic Power Generation Technology Research Association
Pyramid Powercompany:  Transportable remote area power system. Based on solar energy, Pyramid Power is a total package , including Solar modules Photovoltaic), Batteries, Inverter, Regulator
Pyronsolar:  designers of a photovoltaic power plant concept using optical tracking to maximize energy conversion. 
QIS Solarwise Solar Energy Pool Heating And Insulation:  QIS is in the energy conservation industry. Specialises in Solarwise Pool heating, Ventilation, and Insulation products for domestic, commercial and industrial markets.
Ra Energy Foundation :   
Ready Made Resources:  Offers books, foods, medical supplies, weapons of mass destruction protection, non-electric appliances, solar and wind energy equipment, and videos.
Renewable Energy Association Of Central Texas :   
Renewable Northwest Projet:  Solar Energy Technology 
Renwable Energy Access :  Get the latest Renewable Energy News – conveniently delivered to your email in-box, every business day!
Residential Energy Efficiency Database:  Savings guide; construction; site, solar, and house plans; attics, insulation and vapor barriers.
Retractable Solar Screens:  Offering solar screens, retractable patio awnings and energy saving products.
RE-Wrenches:  Messages forum for solar installers and interested bystanders.
RF Energy Via Ionospheric Reflection:  Presents a concept and experiment data for extracting RF energy from the Solar excitation of the ionosphere layers and a simple reflecting antenna system.
Rural Electrification With Solar Energy As A Climate Protection Strategy (January 2000):  As the world struggles to control energy-related greenhouse gases, electricity-starved rural families in the developing world toil to build decent lives. Photovoltaic systems provide a unified solution, bringing power to these that need it, while making a moderate but important contribution to climate protection. [html format]
RV Solar Electric Inc :  Solar consulting, information, education and products in the field of alternative energy for recreational vehicles. Good RV information.
RV Solar Power:  RV solar power system. Personal home page describing the installation of a complete RV photovoltaic system in a 5th wheel. Pictures and diagrams. 

Links to Information about Solar Energy

Sage Farm Solar Home:  Virtual tour of energy efficient residence that has evolved over 20 years to demonstrate several approaches for capturing and using solar energy.
Sandia expertise experience key factors in newly dedicated Solar Two power tower:  taken from Sandia Lab News, June 1996.
Sandia Laboratory Photovoltaics Program:   
Sandia National Laboratories Photovoltaics :   
Scandinavian Homes:  Providers of energy saving timber houses with triple glazing and heat-recovery-ventilation systems, based in Ireland. Utilising passive solar heating and pressurized water systems with water-saving mixers.
SCELL 2004 International Conference on the Physics Chemistry and Engineering of Solar Cells:  SCELL-2004 is intended as a vehicle for the dissemination of research results on materials science and technology related to photovoltaic, photothermal and photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion. Badajoz, Spain, 13-15 May 2004
Sepco Solar Electric Powercompany:  Providing a line of commercial, mass-produced, engineered products powered by solar energy.
Services for Professionals in Solar Energy and Radiation:  Resource with information and databases on solar radiation and energy. Includes Java based calculators for a range of scientific and industrial domains.
Shanghai Ningtong High Tech Co :  Manufacturer of solar energy products, LED products, IC toys and electronic products.
Solar:  Learn more about solar energy technologies such as photovoltaic systems, concentrating solar systems, passive solar heating and daylighting, solar hot water, and solar process heat and space cooling.
Solar Bubble Build:  Interior-environment control system that uses liquid bubble insulation, dynamic liquid cooling, and solar energy collection based on the principles of the Solaroof developed by Richard Nelson.
Solar Building Design:  article by Steven Heckeroth in the Backwoods Home Magazine presenting four projects harnessing the sun’s energy. 
Solar Buildings:   (good introductory material)
Solar Car Team :  Official website of Iowa State University solar car team.
Solar Cells:  An introduction to solar electric technology and the manufacture and use of solar cells. 
Solar Cells Limited:  provides solar cells and rechargeable batteries along with distribution of solar panels and kits. 
Solar Chef High Performance Solar Oven:  Sun oven
Solar Collector and Solar Home Plans:  Design a solar home, build your own solar collectors, and install your own solar water heating system with a little help from JC 
Solar Design Company:  Supplier and installer of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly heat and power systems.
Solar Energy Information:  learn about Solar energy, Energy Savings, Solar Energy Advantages and Solar Power How It Works…
Solar Energy Systems & Service:  Provides solar heating, photovoltaic pool heating, heat pumps and related services. Includes photos, descriptions and contact details.
Solar Energy Systems Limited:  Offers cost effective solar powered technology solutions for water pumping, grid feed electricity generation, remote area power supply, and other solar technology applications.
Solar Enterprises Inc :  Designs and installs alternative energy systems.
Solar Environment Center (Pictures of the Sun today!):   
Solar Heating and Cooling:  Information about each of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme Tasks.
Solar Mountain Energy:  Designs and installs solar electrical systems in the Rocky Mountain area.
Solar Parabolic Troughs :  (PDF document from EREN)
Solar Power Answers:  Information on the design and application of stand-alone photovoltaic systems including system design calculators. 
NEW  What is Solar Power?:  Electromagnetic energy transmitted from the sun (solar radiation) is referred to as solar energy. Power in general is energy per unit time. Only a very small portion of total solar power reaches the earth. Numerically, this amount is characterized by solar constant- the average amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth’s upper atmosphere on a surface perpendicular to the sun’s rays. Solar constant is approximately 1366-1367 watts per square meter or 433 Btu/hr per square foot…
Solar Power Towers:  from the Polytechnical College of Esslingen, Germany.
Solar process heat and space heating and cooling:  Industrial and commercial uses of the sun’s heat.
Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) :  This is the site of the national solar collector and system certification organization. SRCC provides one-time certification, national recognition, product credibility, and standardized comparisons of solar energy products. 
Solar Revolution:  University of Virginia Solar Car Program. Find out more info about our program.
Solar Sculptures:  Provides photos of energy sculpture installations by Joan Webster Price and Herbert Price.
Solar Site:  Lists innovative uses of solar energy used around the planet.
Solar Solutions Design & Drafting:  Solar Solutions design energy efficient and healthy homes to suit your block, lifestyle and budget.

Photovoltaics Videos

Let the Sun Shine
From:  DavidGilmore

a short and fun film about the Technicians for Sustainability – a small brigade of guys on bikes who installed a solar system on my house.

Another Sunny Day with Sharp Solar
From:  tculhane

This is just a quick video sketch of a concept for a music video commercial celebrating Sharp Solar’s new SRS rail mounting system for making it easy to install "sharp looking" solar panels on tile roofs. It needs to be re-recorded and re-cut, but I was having fun after hours following a long day editing a training DVD for Sharp Solar and thought I would throw this together and post it for those who might get a kick out of it! Enjoy (and then go out and get yourself a PV system and help us stop climate change!)

Thin-film photovoltaic (PV) laminates
From:  SowhatNC

Video is from Google video.
Installing clean, reliable, inflation-proof solar power is easier than ever, thanks to the invention of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) laminates that can be bonded directly onto metal roofing panels. Unlike crystalline PV material, there’s no need for obtrusive racks and heavy, expensive glass. Instead, unbreakable thin-film PV is produced using amorphous silicon, encapsulated in Teflon and other polymers.

For More Information:
Uni-solar Photovoltaic Modules
Mitsubishi Thin Film Photovoltaic
Big Frog Mountain Corporation
 

 

Solar Car Races

Pick your vehicle—stock car, motorcycle, pickup truck, riding lawn mower—and competitors in the United States race them. So, too, the solar-powered car.

Robert Becho is a member of the solar-powered car racing team at the University of Missouri, Rolla. His crew’s sleek, low-slung vehicle is covered with cells that convert sunlight to electricity and power the vehicle. (The world’s fastest solar racer, the Netherlands-based Nuna 2, has topped out at 105 miles an hour/170 kilometers an hour.)

Competitions take place on public roads. As a result, "we become a rolling science project," said Becho, a computer and engineering student. He notes that red lights often spur impromptu question-and-answer sessions with drivers of regular cars.

Hotlinks to Additional Internet Resources:
Adiante:  A 6500 km tour through Europe on solar power alone. 15 countries within 2 weeks.  / (added 09/2005)
American Solar Challenge:  A competition to design, build and race solar-powered cars in a cross-country event.  / (added 09/2005)
CalPoly:  Makers of solar cars Sun Luis, Sidewinder, SLO Burn.. / (added 09/2005)
Dell Winston School Solar Car Challenge:  The Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge started in 1995 to help motivate students in science and engineering. The Challenge, a part of the Winston School in Dallas, teaches high school students around the world how to build roadworthy solar cars. On even-numbered years, racing is on the world-famous Texas Motor Speedway; on odd-numbered years, the teams drive cross-country to share their projects with millions of people.  / (added 09/2005)
Formula Sun Grand Prix:  FSGP is an international closed-course race for solar cars. / (added 09/2005)
JP Next Agecom:  Kyushu Tokai University solar car project / (added 09/2005)
Kano Lab:  Oyama National College of Technology / (added 09/2005)
Kohka:  Shizuoka Institute of Technology solar car club / (added 09/2005)
Michelin Challenge Bibendum:  The Michelin Challenge Bibendum is open to carmakers, universities, public or private companies and research institutes who wish to participate with production or prototypes / concept vehicles. / (added 09/2005)
MIT Solar Electric Vehicle:  The MIT SEVT recently released Tesseract, the first in a new family of cars that take advantage of space-grade solar cells and the ISF 5000 regulations. Tesseract placed third in the 2003 World Solar Challenge across the Australian Outback. / (added 09/2005)
New Mexico Tech Solar Racing:  Since 1992 the New Mexico Tech Solar Racing Team has designed, built, and raced vehicles powered only by the sun. All members of the team are undergraduate students at New Mexico Tech. / (added 09/2005)
Nuna2:  Nuna 2 is a solar car. In fact, she is the World Champion solar car, for it has won the World Solar Challenge in Australia in 2003. Top speed: 170 km/h, or +100mph´ / (added 09/2005)
Nuna3:  Solar car built by students, 3rd edition. / (added 09/2005)
nuSun:  Founded in 1998, the Northwestern University Solar Car Team is an undergraduate student organization composed of students and faculty advisors from the broad range of engineering disciplines at Northwestern University working together to design, build, and race solar electric vehicles for competition in the American Solar Challenge and Formula Sun races. / (added 09/2005)
Phaeton 2004:  Phaethon 2004 constituted of two independent events, a circuit race event in a racetrack and a rally race. Starting point for the rally was the Olympic Stadium in Athens. / (added 09/2005)
Principia Solar Car:  It combines aircraft composite construction with satellite grade solar cells, and solid lithium-polymer batteries – all based on an ultra-light aluminum space frame chassis. / (added 09/2005)
Prominence:  Solar powered vehicle weekend project / (added 09/2005)
Queens Solar Vehicle Team:  The Queen’s Solar Vehicle Team officially holds the record for "Furthest Distance Traveled by a Solar Car in One Journey" in the 2002 Guinness Book of World Records. / (added 09/2005)
Rits Solar Car:  Ritsumeikan University EV-racing team / (added 09/2005)
Sol of Auburn:  What started as an idea for a Mechanical Engineering senior project to build a small remote-control solar-powered car has mushroomed into the largest undergraduate engineering project ever undertaken a Auburn University. / (added 09/2005)
Solar Car Team Jona Sun Russian Journey / (added 09/2005)
Solar Eagle:  With an award for its aerodynamic design, Solar Eagle 1 placed first in California and fourth in the Nation during the GM Sunrayce. More in the make.. / (added 09/2005)
Solar Motions:  Top ranked private solar car racing team in the United States based in the San Francisco Bay Area. A registered non-profit organization, Solar Motions is dedicated to fostering a public understanding of and enthusiasm for alternative sources of energy and efficient designs.  / (added 09/2005)
Solar Revolution:  University of Virginia Solar Car Program. Find out more info about our program. / (added 09/2005)
Sunlake Toyobo:  TOYOBO Research Center Otsu / (added 09/2005)
SunRace:  In November of 2003 John Hoerner, Founder and Director of SunRace, suffered a number of severe strokes that impaired his eyesight and short term memory.    Due to this, SunRace was deferred for 2004. / (added 09/2005)
Suzuka:  This race began in 1992.It has been authorized by Federation Internationale del’Automobile, the FIA. The race is run at an international race circuit where FIA Formula One World Championships are held / (added 09/2005)
Taiyouchu:  Interesting solar car.. / (added 09/2005)
Team PrISUm:  One of the main goals of Team PrISUm is to educate the community about solar energy. Throughout the year we participate in several outreach events, listed below, to talk to various groups of people at schools, businesses, and public venues.  / (added 09/2005)
Texas A&M Solar Motorsports Team:  Solar racing, solar power, hybrid vehicles, software companies and competing teams.  / (added 09/2005)
Total Economy Run:  A cross-country race with mass-production cars where fuel efficiency determines the winner. / (added 09/2005)
Tour de Sol:  Showcased vehicles that can cut gas prices today and competitors leading the way to a sustainable energy and transportation future. / (added 09/2005)
Univ  of Michigan Solar Car Racing Team:  The Michigan Solar Car Team is a non-profit, student run organization whose purpose is to design, finance, build and race a solar powered vehicle in several competitions across the US and the World. / (added 09/2005)
UNSW Solar Car Team:  University of New South Wales / (added 09/2005)
Winston Solar Car Team:  The Winston Solar Car Team represents American high schools at the Australian World Solar Challenge. The Winston Team is the same group of young people who hosted this summer’s Winston Solar Challenge at the world famous Texas Motor Speedway.  / (added 09/2005)
Winston Solar Challenge:  The WSC is a high school solar car race. The Winston Team also hosts Winston Science and teaches schools around the world how to build road-worthy solar cars.  / (added 09/2005)
World Economo Move:  The first economy run race for the electric vehicle in the world. / (added 09/2005)
World Solar Car Rallye:  Annual solar car race / (added 09/2005)
World Solar Challenge and World Solar Cycle Challenge:   / (added 09/2005)
WSTM 2003 Malaysia:  World SolarCar Tour / (added 09/2005)
xof1:  The dream of building a solar car and set a new world distance record. / (added 09/2005)
Yumekobo Solar Car Project:  Kanazawa Institute of Technology / (added 09/2005)

Please suggest additional links   

What is "Solar Radiation"?

Solar radiation describes the visible and near-visible (ultraviolet and near-infrared) radiation emitted from the sun. The different regions are described by their wavelength range within the broad band range of 0.20 to 4.0 µm (microns). Terrestrial radiation is a term used to describe infrared radiation emitted from the atmosphere. The following is a list of the components of solar and terrestrial radiation and their approximate wavelength ranges:

  • Ultraviolet: 0.20 – 0.39 µm
     

  • Visible: 0.39 – 0.78 µm
     

  • Near-Infrared: 0.78 – 4.00 µm
     

  • Infrared: 4.00 – 100.00 µm

Approximately 99% of solar, or short-wave, radiation at the earth’s surface is contained in the region from 0.3 to 3.0 µm while most of terrestrial, or long-wave, radiation is contained in the region from 3.5 to 50 µm.

Outside the earth’s atmosphere, solar radiation has an intensity of approximately 1370 watts/meter2. This is the value at mean earth-sun distance at the top of the atmosphere and is referred to as the Solar Constant. On the surface of the earth on a clear day, at noon, the direct beam radiation will be approximately 1000 watts/meter2 for many locations.

The availability of energy is affected by location (including latitude and elevation), season, and time of day. All of which can be readily determined. However, the biggest factors affecting the available energy are cloud cover and other meteorological conditions which vary with location and time.

Historically, solar measurements have been taken with horizontal instruments over the complete day. In the Northern US, this results in early summer values 4-6 times greater than early winter values. In the South, differences would be 2-3 times greater. This is due, in part, to the weather and, to a larger degree, the sun angle and the length of daylight.

source EPLAB

What are Solar Sails?

How does a solar sail work? 
A solar sail is a spacecraft with a large, lightweight mirror attached to it that moves by being pushed by light reflecting off of the mirror instead of rockets.

When the light from the Sun reflects off the surface of the solar sail, the energy and momentum of light particles known as "photons" is transferred to the sail. This gives the sail a "push" that accelerates it through space. Although the acceleration is very slight, it is also continuous, enabling the sail to reach very high speeds in a relatively short time. The direction of the push is controlled by the angle of the sail with respect to the Sun, adding to or subtracting from the orbital velocity.

How does light push a solar sail?
Photons, which are "particles" of light, bounce off the reflective material of the sail. (Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.) The reaction here causes a change in momentum, pushing the sail and accelerating the spacecraft. A photon reflecting off the mirror-like surface of a solar sail gives the sail a double kick — a push equal to twice the photon’s momentum (one push from the sail stopping the photon and one from it reflecting the photon and accelerating it away).

Does a solar sail fly on the solar wind?
No! The solar wind is made up of ionized particles ejected by the Sun. These particles move much slower than light. A solar sail does not stop or reflect them, although they also may impart some of their momentum to the solar sail. However, the force from the solar wind is less than one percent of that from light pressure.

How fast does a solar sail go?
The speed of an interplanetary solar sail spacecraft will depend on how long it has been propelled by the pressure of sunlight. The acceleration from sunlight is very small — approximately five ten-thousandths of a meter per second per second, depending on the size and weight of the sail and the spacecraft. Over one day, that is a velocity increase of 45 meters per second or about 100 miles per hour.

But the real advantage of solar sailing is that, unlike a chemical rocket that applies a lot of thrust but only for an instant, sunlight hitting the sail applies thrust continuously. In 100 days a sail could reach 16,000 kilometers per hour (10,000 miles per hour); in one year it could reach 58,000 kilometers per hour (36,000 miles per hour). In just three years, a solar sail could reach a speed of over 160,000 kilometers per hour (100,000 miles per hour). At that speed you could reach Pluto in less than five years. In comparison, the New Horizons misson to Pluto, using chemical propulsion and a gravity-assist from Jupiter, is planned to take nine years to reach its target.

Still, 160,000 kilometers per hour (100,000 miles per hour) is still only 0.00015 the speed of light. It would take about 1,000 years for a solar sail to reach one-tenth the speed of light, even with light shining on it continuously. This emphasizes just how hard interstellar flight is. It will take advanced sails much thinner than today’s technology, plus a laser power source in space that can operate over interstellar distances to reach one-tenth the speed of light in less than 100 years. Some researchers of beamed-power sailing think that use of high-temperature materials may make such speeds possible in a few decades.

What can a solar sail be used for?
Solar sails can be used to boost or decrease the orbits of spacecraft, travel between the planets within our solar system, and someday may take us to worlds around other stars.
However, once you get much beyond the orbit of Jupiter, energy from sunlight is too weak. When far from the Sun, lasers can be directed at the sails. Lasers stay in a tight beam so that most of their energy can be imparted to the sail and not diffused into space. Very large lasers in Earth orbit or in the inner solar system could be used to help us travel to other stars. In the future, people may travel to distant stars using laser powered solar sails.

What is the advantage of using a solar sail?
The great advantage of a solar sail is that it requires no fuel. Today, we use chemical rockets to give our spacecraft a quick boost into Earth orbit, and then out of Earth orbit. The spacecraft then coasts most of the way to its destination, with some small blasts from thrusters to adjust its trajectory. This requires a lot of fuel. Solar sails give a very low thrust, but they can work continuously, pushing spacecraft faster and faster. A solar sail can, in time, move the spacecraft even faster than a chemical rocket. For a round trip solar sails have great advantage since no fuel is needed for the return.

Can a solar sail only provide thrust away from the Sun?
No, thrust can be generated inward or outward with respect to the sun. By turning the sail at different angles, we can add or subtract velocity to the spacecraft. When we add velocity, the sail flies away from the Sun. When we subtract velocity, its orbit spirals inward.

Why hasn’t anyone flown a solar sail before?
No one had been able to organize a simple flight using the very low cost launch vehicles in Russia. The Planetary Society has unique international team building capability, a willingness to take risk, and accepts the very limited objective of a first solar sail flight.
 

Solar Sail Links

How Stuff Works: How Solar Sails Work:  looks at how solar sails work, takes an in-depth look at the Cosmos-1 mission, and finds out what solar-sails mean for future space travel. 
Institute of Planetary Exploration – Solar Sail Home Page:   
Interstellar Probe: Exploring the Interstellar Medium and the Boundaries of the Heliosphere:  project of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which would use a solar sail spacecraft. 

Solar Cooking

  • Solar cooking is the simplest, safest, most convenient way to cook food without consuming fuels or heating up the kitchen.
  • The first solar cooker we know of was invented by Horace de Saussure, a Swiss naturalist experimenting as early as 1767
  • Box Cookers – This type of cooker has been the advantage of slow, even cooking of large quantities of food. Variations include slanting the face toward the sun and the number of reflectors.
  • With box cookers, the food will cook more quickly if it is divided into several smaller pots instead of having it all in one large pot.
  • Solar cooking is not only fun but it’s a great educational tool. Solar Box Cookers, constructed using cardboard, newspaper, aluminum foil, and a piece of glass will typically cook at temperatures between 225 – 275 F.
  • Panel Cookers – In this design, various flat panels concentrate the sun’s rays onto a pot inside a plastic bag or under a glass bowl. The advantage of this design is that they can be built in an hour or so for next to nothing.
  • Panel Cookers require only one box, aluminum foil, a jar and an oven bag, and can be constructed in less than an hour.
  • Parabolic Cookers – These are usually concave disks that focus the light onto the bottom of a pot. The advantage is that foods cook about as fast as on a conventional stove. The disadvantage is that they are complicated to make, they must be focused often to follow the sun, and they can cause burns and eye injury if not used correctly.
  • A good first food to try is a small quantity of rice, since it is fairly easy to cook and looks very different cooked than it does raw. Chicken or fish is also very easy to cook.
  • There’s no need to rotate the oven to follow the sun, though it will improve cooking times
  • A solar cooker is like a hot box, in which we can cook our food without any cooking gas or kerosene, electricity, coal or wood.