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    • Rights: The Royal Society, TVNZ 7 in partnership with the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology
    Published 15 December 2010 Referencing Hub media
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    This is a simple explanation of what solar cells do and how they may be used to provide energy in the future.

    This short animated video from TVNZ demystifies some of the technical language.

    Transcript

    What are solar cells?

    Solar cells convert light from the sun directly into electricity1.

    Sunlight is made up of tiny packets of energy called photons. When sunlight hits a solar cell2, the photons knock free minute particles called electrons contained inside. As the electrons begin to move about they are 'routed' into a current3. This is electricity – the movement of electrons along a path.

    Solar cells – also known as photovoltaic4 cells – harness sunlight to create electricity in a clean, green, renewable5 way. Developing this technology could make us less dependent on fossil fuels6.

    The cost of using solar energy7 on a commercial scale has been seen as prohibitive but many hope that advances in photovoltaic technology will help meet our energy needs in years to come.

    And that’s a solar cell.

    1. electricity: A general term that includes a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electrical charge.
    2. solar cell: Any device that directly converts the energy in light into electrical energy through the process of photovoltaics.
    3. current: The flow of electric charge through a conductor.
    4. photovoltaics: A method to convert sunlight directly into electricity by using solar cells packaged in photovoltaic modules.
    5. renewable: Resources able to be sustained or renewed indefinitely, either because of inexhaustible supplies or because of new growth.
    6. fossil fuel: Materials such as coal, oil and natural gas formed from the fossilised remains of plants that lived many millions of years ago. Often burned as fuel – although this releases large amounts of CO2, which contributes to global warming. Fossil fuels are also not renewable – there is a limited amount.
    7. solar energy: The energy received by the Earth and from the Sun. Also called solar power.
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      electricity

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      2. A general term that includes a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electrical charge.

      photovoltaics

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      3. A method to convert sunlight directly into electricity by using solar cells packaged in photovoltaic modules.

      solar energy

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      4. The energy received by the Earth and from the Sun. Also called solar power.

      solar cell

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      5. Any device that directly converts the energy in light into electrical energy through the process of photovoltaics.

      renewable

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      6. Resources able to be sustained or renewed indefinitely, either because of inexhaustible supplies or because of new growth.

      current

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      7. The flow of electric charge through a conductor.

      fossil fuel

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      8. Materials such as coal, oil and natural gas formed from the fossilised remains of plants that lived many millions of years ago. Often burned as fuel – although this releases large amounts of CO2, which contributes to global warming. Fossil fuels are also not renewable – there is a limited amount.

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