Solar energy has been around since the world began
. It has long been recognised as a source of renewable power. Without the sun, no living thing would be able to live on this earth. So powerful was the sun that people in ancient times would worship it. They understood that the sun was vital for their well being. They did not understand why but they still knew of its undeniable importance. Through the millenia that followed we have improved our understanding of the sun. Great scientists such as Copernicus, Galileo and Newton have help broaden our understanding.
The earth is perfectly positioned to sustain life on earth. If it was located any nearer then the earth would burn, if any further then the earth would freeze. That doesn't mean that the planet does not experience hot and cold periods. Humans have learned how to adapt to these changeable conditions and they have learned how to utilise the light and heat of the sun for their own good.
Humans have harnessed the energy of the sun to their advantage in many different ways over the years. Over 2000 years ago, the Greeks began building houses into the side of hills. This was done so as to soak up the energy of the sun during the day and release it at night. The Roams were responsible for using glass to warm houses. They realised that glass could trap the heat from the sun. They were the first to start using glass houses to grow plants.
Modern scientists have proceeded to discern the overwhelming force of the sun, for example, identifying that the sun provides many thousand times as much energy as the population of the earth uses every day; that when the sun shines directly overhead, a single acre of land receives some four thousand horsepower; and in less than three days the solar energy reaching Earth more than matches the estimated total of all the fossil fuels on Earth.
As our knowledge of the sun and solar energy advance it is clear to see why solar power has become the fastest area of renewable energy research and development. Solar power can be the power source of the future.