INTRODUCTION ON ENERGY

Most of the energy we have here in our planet came from our SUN, the star nearest us. And it is a medium size star among stars in our Galaxy alone, the Milky Way. But its energy is tremendous. We would fry before we can get halfway. By astronomical standards, our SUN is very near to us, only 8 light-minutes away! Living things on earth are protected from the deadly rays of the sun because of our atmosphere. The earth has its own natural energy like its gravity and it's movement.When we use waterfall to generate electric power. that is purely from the earth's energy. Of course, there is also the wind. But the most abundant are the sun's light! The primitive concept is that if only we can save some of the day's light and use it at night! Perhaps, cavemen thought of this when they encountered luminous rocks! Imagine a rock brought outside during daytime and rolled back into the cave at night.Hmmmmm...There were some primitive ideas in the past like putting a giant mirror aloft to reflect sunlight to the dark side of the planet. We have a natural one, the Moon.Perhaps in the future, Man can put giant mirrors on the moon! Ah, but there are some drawbacks other than costs. Healthwise, we have to sleep in complete darkness to develop some human chemistry. It's not fair to eliminate night time. Today, we have discovered and developed a way to store sunlight.

A bit of energy in general. Energy cannot be multiplied but it can be converted to different forms. Physical energy can be converted into electricity. Crank a magnet around a coil and we can produce electric energy in the coils. Push this energy into a jar with electrolytes, then we converted the energy into chemicals.The reverse is also true. electricity can be converted to physical energy with motors. And the chemicals can be converted back into electrical power(the battery). Now WHAT ABOUT LIGHT? IF WE CAN PRODUCE LIGHT WITH ELECTRICITY, CAN WE CONVERT LIGHT BACK INTO ELECTRICITY? The answer is YES! The material which is abundant on earth that has revolutionize everything on earth is SILICON. A device called a semiconductor or transistor using silicon when exposed to light creates electricity. Today they are called Photovoltaic Cells or Solar Cells and eventually Solar Panels because of the shape.


The present popular energy is hydrocarbon, the bunker oil running generators, diesels, and gasoline. How did this kind of energy come from the sun? Well yes,millions of years ago when trees sprouted and grew via photosynthesis(light from the sun), eventually got buried, petrified and compressed and liquified underground. Today, they are called black gold.

The problem with using Sun's energy of years ago is extraction, refining,and POLLUTION. If we imagine a chart showing sun's energy of the past that we can use, near the present is the wood we burn. It is perhaps from a tree that grew only a year ago. But it is still polluting. Remember the world started with wood during the steam engine days.

THE BEST ENERGY IS THE SUN'S ENERGY TODAY! That is what Solar power is all about. We can demonstrate using the sun's energy today. Line a can with aluminum foil, point to the sun and at its focal point put an egg on a dish with water. It will boil the egg. Or WW2 tanks in the desert getting so hot that soldiers were frying eggs on top of the hot metal. Today, we have everything we need to store the sun's energy conveniently until needed. BATTERIES. So:


PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLLS + BATTERY + CONTROLLER + LIGHTBULBS = A SYSTEM FOR COLLECTING AND USING TODAY'S SUN ENERGY.

The results: RENEWABILITY,LESS POLLUTION, LESS INPUTS TO GATHER, THEREFORE LESS COST TO US. The cost savings is not just the actual monetary cost but cost to mother earth. Not to mention the risks now well known to us as to what is happening with the nuclear power plants in Japan.

to be continued.....