Matt Doeden - Finding Out about Solar Energy

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Finding Out about

Solar

Energy

Matt Doeden

Copyright 2015 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written
permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in
an acknowledged review.

Lerner Publications Company
A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
241 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Doeden, Matt, author.

Finding out about solar energy / by Matt Doeden.
pages cm. (Searchlight books. What are energy sources?)
Includes index.
ISBN 9781467736572 (lib bdg. : alk. paper)
ISBN 9781467746410 (eBook)
1. Solar energyJuvenile literature. 2. Renewable energy sourcesJuvenile

literature. I. Title.
TJ810.3.D64 2015
333.7923dc23

2013048329

Manufactured in the United States of America
1 BP 7/15/14

Contents

WHAT
IS SOLAR
ENERGY?

COLLETING
SOLAR ENERGY

THE PROS AND CONS
OF SOLAR ENERGY

Chapter

WHAT IS
SOLAR ENERGY?

Imagine yourself on the
beach. Its a hot, bright
summer day. You spread
sunblock on your skin so
you dont get a sunburn.
Then you step off your beach
towel. The sand is so hot that
it almost hurts to walk on it.
Time for a swim!

The sun bathes beaches with
light and heat. What do we
call power from the sun?

All that heat and light is coming from the suns rays.
The sun bathes Earth in free energy every second of
every day. We can collect and use the suns power.
Power from the sun is called solar energy.

Solar energy is
powerful and plentiful.

Where Does Solar Energy Come From?

The sun is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium.
These are the two most common elements in the
universe. The center of the sun is called the core.
Thats where the suns power comes from. The
core is like one giant power plant.

THE SUNS POWER COMES FROM
ITS CENTER, OR CORE.

The core is only
one part of the sun.

In the suns core, the temperature is more than
27,000,000F (15,000,000C). Gravity pulls much of the
hydrogen that makes up the sun deep into the suns core.
This creates a huge amount of heat and pressure. The
heat and pressure cause two hydrogen atoms to join, or
fuse together. When that happens, the hydrogen atoms
form a single helium atom. Thats where the helium in the
sun comes from. This is called nuclear fusion.

The new helium atom doesnt quite use all the mass
of the two hydrogen atoms. There is a little left over.
This mass is converted into energy a lot of energy.

All the suns
energy comes from
nuclear fusion.

The energy
makes its way to
the surface of the
sun. The energy
goes off into space
as electromagnetic
radiation. This type
of energy includes
light, X-rays, and
more. Some of that
energy hits Earth.
This energy warms
our planet, provides
food for plants, and
can be collected
and used by people.

Plants rely on sunlight
to make their own food.

Where Can We Collect Solar Energy?

We can collect solar energy anywhere the sun shines.
But some places are better than others. Places that

dont get much
cloud cover are
ideal. The sun
shines brightly
almost all the
time in most
deserts. They
can be great
places to collect
solar power.

The desert is an excellent
place to collect solar power.

But theres a problem. Not many people live in
deserts. It doesnt do much good to collect power if no
one is there to use it. So the trick is to find sunny spots
close to cities and towns. Californias Mojave Desert is a
perfect example. Lots of people live near it. Thats why
many solar power plants have been built there.

This solar plant is in the
Mojave Desert in California.

Chapter

COLLECTING
SOLAR ENERGY

We can turn the suns rays into
electricity in several ways.
Some methods work great
on small scales, such as in
a solar- powered calculator.
Other ways, such as focusing
the suns rays to create very
high temperatures, work best
in large power plants.

Some calculators
run on solar power.
What is one way to
collect solar power?

Photovoltaic Cells

One of the easiest ways to get power from the sun is
through photovoltaic cells, or solar cells. In the word
photovoltaic, photo means light, and voltaic means
electricity. Solar cells turn sunlight into electricity.

This picture shows
photovoltaic cells.

How do solar cells work? They are made of a material
called a semiconductor. When light passes through the
cell, this material absorbs some of the lights energy.
The energy causes atoms to lose tiny particles called
electrons. The electrons flow in one direction as an
electric current. Then we get electricity!

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