subject: Guide On How To Make A Solar Cell [print this page] Guide On How To Make A Solar Cell Guide On How To Make A Solar Cell
If you would like to make a solar panel on your own, you might find it to be such a fun experience. And there are a few simple, easy to do and fun methods that you can follow in order to generate electric power from every day materials found at home. The first thing you need to do in order to make a solar panel at home is to obtain strips of copper. You need to cut the copper strips and clean them thoroughly and you also need to clean your hands and make sure there are no traces of grease left since it can cause difficulties in making the project work. Then you need to put a small strip of the copper on an electric burner because you must not expose the copper strip to fire - so avoid using gas burners.
The next step for you to take to make a solar panel is to heat the strip of copper until that strip turns pink and then purple and then to red. However, you must heat the copper strip until it turns pitch black, so enjoy the pretty mixtures of colors while you can. Once the strip has turned completely black, turn off the heat and allow it to cool - make sure that you do not remove the copper from the burner until it has cooled down completely which takes about fifteen to twenty minutes. After the copper strips have cooled down, you will notice small black particles peeling off the copper strip - these are cupric oxide sediments. What you should do next is to hold the copper strips under running water and gently scrub away the cupric oxide sediments using only your hands, as using a scrubber can damage the copper strip. You should notice a red covering on the copper strip once you have washed away all the black sediments.
Afterwards, you should place the oxidized copper strip as well as a clean copper strip side by side inside a glass container, making sure that the two strips do not come in contact with each other. Link the clean strip of copper to an ampere meters positive terminal and then connect the oxidized copper strip to the meter's negative terminal. Then you need to mix hot water and salt, put it into the container where the copper strips are, partially submerging the copper strips but these should not have contact with the alligator clips. Finally, leave the container outside, placing it in places where it will get lots of sunshine and observe the ampere meter and notice how much electricity is generated. For further info please visit make a solar cell.
