PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY-SUNNY SIDE UP

摘要

The photovoltaic effect - a phenomenon allowing light-to-electricity conversion - was first described by the French physicist Edmond Becquerel in 1839. Albert Einstein was awarded a Nobel Prize for his theoretical work on the subject, published in 1904. Intensive research, spurred by the race to space from 1950 to 1969, led a number of companies to develop and bring solar cells, or PV cells, to the marketplace as of 1955. Vanguard I, the first solar-powered satellite, launched in 1958 and ran for eight years. Others followed. Solar power continues to be used as an auxiliary energy source on spacecrafts and to power orbiting satellites.