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Solar Energy

Solar energy is considered a renewable resource. While not an absolute truth, it serves as a viable working definition. This is because, really, if the sun stopped undergoing the fusion that provides the earth with light and heat; we would have bigger issues than whether or not the world is running out of fossil fuels.

Solar energy comes in two primary forms, light and heat. Technically the entirety of solar radiation is contained in the electromagnetic spectrum, with a small bandwidth of that comprising the visible light spectrum. Visible light is the light our eyes can translate into imagery. It is bordered on the low end by infra red, and on the high end by ultra violet. Infra red imaging can be used to read the heat signatures given off by the environment and translate them into a visible color differentiation. Ultra violet radiation is responsible for causing us to tan in the sun, as well as being one of the mutagens responsible for skin cancer.

The means to tap solar energy for our own use is the primary technological hurdle prohibiting our use of the sun as a direct energy source. Because so much of our energy use is electric in nature, we are searching for a reliable way to translate the solar energy into electric energy. Current laboratory ceilings of about 58% have been achieved, but the technique pioneered to do that is still years from commercial viability.

 

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