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  • SOLAR ELECTRIC: Photovoltaics
Solar on the Line exhibition title graphic
Workers installing solar panels on a home in Englewood, Colorado, in 2012

SOLAR ELECTRIC: Photovoltaics

November 28, 2016 by Hal Wallace, Curator of the Electricity Collections, and Joyce Bedi, Lemelson Center

"So long as the sun shines, man will be able to develop power in abundance . . ." —Thomas Edison, 1896

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In 1839 French scientist Edmond Becquerel discovered that light produces an electric current in certain materials. By the 1950s, scientists and engineers had expanded this discovery into the science of photovoltaics, or generating electricity from light, and invented the first solar cells. A few solar cells can power small devices like radios and calculators. Linked together in panels, solar cells can power an entire house. Every item powered by solar cells is one less device drawing power from the grid.

Applying solar energy on a small scale built technical expertise and created markets for solar powered devices. It also fueled further research into new materials and designs that capture more of the sun’s energy, helping to increase efficiency and lower costs. However, storing large amounts of electricity remains difficult.

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Russell Ohl's experimental silicon P/N junction, 1940

Experimental silicon P/N junction, 1940

Engineer Russell Ohl worked at Bell Labs during the 1930s. While researching semiconductors—materials whose ability to conduct electricity can be manipulated—he found positive (P) and negative (N) regions created by impurities in his silicon sample. The barrier between the regions, called a P-N junction, prevented electrons from moving—until he exposed the silicon to sunlight. Then electrons crossed the junction and generated a current, converting sunlight into electrical energy. The silicon rod mounted in this reflector contains a P-N junction across the center. Ohl’s discovery contributed to the invention of both solar cells and transistors. 

Gift of Russell Ohl; Smithsonian photo

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Practical solar cell invented by Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson invented in 1954

Bell Labs experimental photovoltaic cell, 1954

Building on the work of Russell Ohl, Bell Labs researchers Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson invented a practical solar cell in 1954. The company adapted the invention to power telephone equipment in remote locations. This early experimental cell still produces electricity today.

Gift of Peter Iles; Smithsonian photo

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Bell Telephone technician on pole installing solar panel for telephone relay in 1958

Bell Telephone technician installing solar panel for telephone relay, Americus, Georgia, 1958. Courtesy of Bell Telephone Laboratories

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An assortment of silicon solar cells, 1960–1985

Silicon solar cells, 1960–1985

Solar cells come in many shapes and sizes, and are manufactured with a variety of materials. These are all made with the element silicon. The dark areas absorb sunlight. The thick and thin lines are part of the electrical circuit. 

Gifts of Peter Iles, Eugene L. Ralph, and Electric Power Research Institute; Smithsonian photo

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Comsat solar cell display comparing power outputs of different cells, around 1975

Comsat solar cell display, around 1975

This display shows a decade of experimentation with new materials and techniques to improve solar cell efficiency. Each group of cells on the panel produces an equal amount of electricity. A violet cell absorbs more light than a conventional cell by converting light to electricity closer to its surface. A non-reflective cell absorbs even more light because less bounces off its surface.

Gift of Comsat Laboratories; Smithsonian photo

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Chronar solar calculator watch, around 1977

Chronar calculator watch, around 1977

Consumers could buy solar-powered products within ten years of the of invention solar cells. Entrepreneur Zoltan Kiss founded Chronar Corporation in 1976 and introduced this calculator watch the following year. The watch used battery power in combination with solar cells that are located above the numerical display. 

Gift of Louis A. Zanoni; Smithsonian photo

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Bill Nye-branded  solar powered energy kit, 1995

Bill Nye Solar Powered Energy Kit, 1995

Companies began selling solar-powered toys for fun and education in the early 1960s. This kit features an inexpensive solar cell that can operate either in sunlight or under artificial light.

Gift of Bill Nye; Smithsonian photo

  • Continue To SOLAR ELECTRIC: A Million Solar Roofs
  • Previous
  • Introduction
  • SOLAR THERMAL: Putting the Sun’s Heat to Work
  • SOLAR ELECTRIC: Photovoltaics
  • SOLAR ELECTRIC: A Million Solar Roofs
  • SOLAR ELECTRIC: Unplugged
  • SOLAR ELECTRIC: Sunrise
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