I am writing a literature review essay..and i have to discuss about the political impact of solar energy..can anyone give me some advices or examples for what i can do about this topic.

Oil is a very political tool. Run by OPEC.

Solar power can be produced 100% domestically in a capitalistic manner. When you have no foreign governments dictating our energy policy, you create an independence that is very important for security. We don’t have to rely on anyone but ourselves. Foreign governments want us to "need" them.

I mean, it’s the hottest place on earth, so one would assume it would be prime area for solar energy methods no?

The equator isn’t the hottest place on earth, it just gets the most direct sunlight at the top of the atmosphere. Near-tropical desert areas are hotter and get more sun at ground level due to less cloud cover. In addition, there are the questions of local demand for energy and local economic surplus to build solar power installations. There are some solar power installations in equatorial countries.

Some places rely on solar and wind energy right? To power their homes and such. How do they use energy in the night or when there is no wind? Do they have something that stores the energy like a big battery or something?

I have to “make” a green city and it will use renewable energy source including solar and wind energy. How would I make the wind and solar energy sustainable and not have shortages of power?

Small places, like a remote house or an island, might have batteries. A large place, like a city, would be connected to a "Grid", or electrical energy transmission system. If the wind stopped blowing, deep in the night, they would pull energy off the grid, from a nuclear plant, or coal-burning generation station, or hydroelectric project many miles away. A town on an island might have a large diesel generator.

Solar cells convert the energy of incoming light to electric energy; a good quality cell operates at an efficiency of 15%. Each person in the United States uses energy (for lighting, heating, transportation, etc.) at an average rate of 11 kilowatts . Although sunlight varies with season and time of day, solar energy falls on the United States at an average intensity of 200 W/m^2.

Assuming you live in an average location, what total solar-cell area would you need to provide all of your energy needs with energy from the sun?

The correct rate is 11kWhr per day. 11kw would be a horrendous amount of power.(maybe Al Gore uses it at this rate)

I will calc it at your rate for problem sake. (this is not real life by the way, there are lots more variables, length of day, etc)

200W/m^2 * 15% = 30w/meter

11kw / 30w/meter = 366m^2

On a side note I think mastering physics is a crappy program, made for lazy physics teacher that dont ever care about application of knowledge.

Photosynthesis is used by plants and a semiconductor-based solar cell both harness solar energy. what are three ways these two systems are similar and three ways they are different?

Also what is Thermodynamics and how does it apply to each system?

Same
Absorb solar energy
Transform into useful from
Best oreinted perpendicular to suns rays

Different
chemical vs electrical
self produced vs factory produced
ridged vs fexable

http://www.aurorapower.net/alternative-energy/solar-electric.aspx
http://hyperphysics.info/?cx=partner-pub-6503468025187103%3Akxag2b-tx0r&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=thermodynamics

I highly recommend using hyperphysics.info search for all your physics related homework.

Cheers!

I know that Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City offers certs in solar energy. What other colleges offer these?

these sites will help u 2 to get courses on solar related subjects……

www.mccae.org/

www.luna.edu/course/ASE202/
www.emagister.co.uk/wind_energy_courses-ek1205.htm

Some states like TX and NJ will subsidize solar energy 40% worth.
But the technology to date has been quite costly in spite of these states’ subsidizing the cost. However, solar energy is starting to turn the corner cost-effectively in the past year or two.
Why is there no serious encouragement from the federal gov’t to encourage homeowners to install solar energy panels by offerering subsidies or rebates for installing it?
Would this be a good idea?

great idea…but the time hasent come yet. I came accross a new, proven and tested home made wind power system and solar power system which eliminates our electricity bills. It was written by a Renewable energy enthusiasts Michael Harvey the diy called Earth4energy. You can get your copy to save energy and help environment while eliminating your power bills. Get it from here:

http://how-to-build-cheap-solar-energy.blogspot.com/

The more, the better. The arguments should be at least remotely feasible. I’m looking for ecological arguments why Solar Energy is a better alternative than Nuclear Reactors.

They both have their place, so if you’re planning for a debate, you’ll have to take this into consideration. Your argument should be for solar, but not against complete replacement of nuclear. If you argue the latter, you’re sure to lose, unless your opponents are incompetent.

But to answer your question directly:

- Solar can provide heat directly, without being converted to mechanical motion and then electricity. It is thus more efficient at heating (say) water.

- Solar scales down well, so a single house system can be feasibly installed. A nuclear reactor needs at least an apartment-building load to be feasible. And they would only do that in Russia, because

- Nuclear reactor technology can be used to breed weapons materials. And even if you couldn’t construct an A-bomb, if you could order fuel for your home reactor, a bad person could grind it up into a fine power that would make a hazardous mess when blown up in a public place.

- The nuclear waste and radiation hazard also make nuclear unsuitable for single-home usage. These are not as much of a problem for a centralized plant.

I came accross a new, proven and tested home made wind power system and solar power system which eliminates our electricity bills. It was written by a Renewable energy enthusiasts Michael Harvey the diy called Earth4energy. You can get your copy to save energy and help environment while eliminating your power bills. Get it from here:

http://how-to-build-cheap-solar-energy.blogspot.com/

How does the solar battery charged using solar panels?What is the mechanism that converts solar energy in to electrical energy? How can a car be run on solar energy?what could be its maximum speed?

The mechanism used to convert solar energy is called a photovoltaic cell.
Solar cells are built of a mostly silicon compound, which leaves some atoms with loose electrons. These electrons are knocked free by the energy of the sun and, if attached to a circuit, will charge the battery like any AC charger.
A car can be run very simply Just use an electric car, with batteries being charged by a solar panel on the roof or at a filling port (similar to a gas station).
The fastest solar car I know of is the Nuna 2 (105 mph)

Hope this helps

I have a small panel of solar cells, i wish to save this energy for lighting my study lamp, how do i do it?
How much energy will it hold? How do i convert it to light?
Please help friends.
Thanks

You will need a way to store the energy gained my solar panel.

Way 1, 12 volt battery. to store this way, I suggest a regulator to prevent your battery overloading, though this is not always needed. This is the most common way.

Way 2, wire up a capacitor. this is a type of temporary battery, as it stores electrical charge and releases it on its full capacity. This way is good if you want lighting in a cellar during daytime

Way 3, use the electric you gain to pump water to a high point and then use gravity to create hydro electric whenever you need it. This way works, but you lose energy.

If you want to run lights off a battery, you will need some 12 volt bulbs, as these work of different electricity than normal household bulbs. You can cheat and use car head light bulbs, or go for the real things and buy proper 12 volt bulbs to fit a lamp-stand.

Unless you disconnect your household light circuit from the mains, you will need an extra set of wiring.

In short, the most simple way, if you put your panel in the window, lead the two wires to your battery, ensuring you connect each wire to the correct terminal (the panel will instruct which is which). From the battery, take a wire off each terminal and fix to the light bulb holder, and an extra wire from the negative battery terminal to an earth source, such as a copper water pipe. Don’t worry, it wont electrocute you - there isn’t enough power for that.

Simplifying it, wiring a light bulb is just like wiring a car. The same applies to both. The only difference being that you charge your battery via a solar panel instead of an alternator.

How long your light will stay on will depend on a multitude of things, such as the condition of your battery, the power output of your panel, how many lights you run and for how long. The amount of sun that hits your panel will also affect the charge rate of your battery. ?And there are many different types of battery. I personally recommendd the armed forces surplus alkaline type, as they can be depleted of charge without damage, though if you cannot get one of these, get a long life leisure battery.

It all sounds complicated, but it’s not really. Contact me if you need more help…