subject: Watching The Improvement Of Solar Power [print this page] Solar power is viewed by many people as the potential hope of the next generation. With other natural resources dwindling and causing harm to the environment, these people are hoping that it can be developed enough to provide an alternate means of energy.
Already this new mode of energy is being incorporated into homes, cars, and a variety of household objects. Solar power seems like a new discovery, but it was actually developed 100 years ago.
It was first used to power a boat in Russia by a Russian scientist. In the beginning, other kinds of power were more powerful and more efficient.
As a result, solar power was slowly developed and was gradually improved over time. It was not really effective enough for use until the 1980s.
Around this time, many more people took interest in it and many more developments were made. Most of the developments came through competitions and races to develop rather than in a desire to apply it to various things for practical use.
Solar power has been incorporated into more items for use as a means of partial power. However, there are several items for which it is the sole means of power.
The biggest limiting factor in the use of solar power is the fact that it is not practical for powering large things at night. This makes the sun an ideal source for generation of partial power.
Some manufacturers have even put together kits with which you can add solar power to your boat or home to power a few electronics. These kits include the solar panels, wires, and everything else needed to assemble your new source of power.
The demand and interest in improving solar power so that it can power larger equipment is growing in demand for several reasons. One reason is that it is environmentally friendly.
Solar panels do not give out the emissions that gas powered vehicles produce. In addition, solar powered vehicles and boats are much quieter than most gas powered vehicles.
However, the fact that these vehicles are quieter can be a disadvantage. For example, children playing in the street may not hear the vehicle coming and get out of its way.
If the car does not see the children, this situation could end in disaster. There are a few of these kinds of vehicles available, but they are still not efficient enough to be convenient for the entire population.
However, the technology is continuing to improve and these vehicles will become more and more efficient. One of the most recent improvements in solar power was the flight of an airplane for 26 consecutive hours solely on the sun's energy.
This airplane was specially designed to be sustained by solar power so it was extremely thin and light, but it is a step towards more efficient solar power. In addition to completing the longest sustained flight on solar power, this plane also made a record for flying the highest on solar power.
It reached a height of 28,000 feet above sea level and traveled at a speed of 26 miles per hour. However, the plane reached a maximum speed of 78 miles per hour during the trip.
The name of this solar record making plane was Solar Impulse. This project took seven years to complete.
The plane's home base was in Payerne, Switzerland. The pilot was Andre Borschberg who was age 57 at the time.
He was a Swiss Air Force fighter pilot with decade of experience before he took this revolutionizing flight. This particular project was intended to prove that solar power can power technology and that pollution is something that can be avoided in the future.
The pilot reported that nothing unusual happened during the plane's trip. His only complaint was how cold the cockpit was at night, which was -20 degrees Celsius, and the fact that the cold made his iPod die.
They recognize that improvements still need to be made in solar power before it becomes practical, but they know that the end goal is possible. The researchers plan to continue the project and enhance the plane's capabilities until it can fly around the world depending only on the sun for energy.
Projects like these are going to revolutionize how we use technology. Improvements are going to continue to be made until solar power becomes efficient enough to be used in everyday life without any inconveniences and maybe even a few improvements.
