Most Precious Resource
sensitive to light while testing materials for underwater
telegraph cables. Smith’s finding was further developed
by Fritz, a scientist who found that Selenium could be used
to create the photovoltaic effect. Solar collectors using
selenium were used to convert the suns energy into visible
light that we know as electricity today. Between 1950 and
1958, the first solar office building, commercial solar cell,
and the small satellite known as the US Vanguard made its
first voyage into space respectively.
The aerospace agency, N.A.S.A. logged August of 2014 as the
hottest month ever in the 134 year history of climate research.
This is directly related to the rise in greenhouse gas emissions
that are destroying the ecosystem.
Ironically, as this article is being drafted the peoples climate
march of 2014 started on September 21st in New York City.
Thousands of people are marching to make a statement regarding our warming planet hoping that the general assembly
of the United Nations headed by the President of the United
States will address this matter in a timely manner and ward off
this threat to humanity. The marchers voiced their disgust for
the state of world affairs by protesting on Wall Street and gathering at the United Nations at the start of the conference on
September 23rd, hoping that a solution can be reached before
it’s too late to be reversed or stabilized.
Over thousands of years and most notably, the last two
centuries elements have been discovered, tested and
developed. However, they were said to be too costly for
commercial use and were not pursued because of a combination of economic and political deterrents.
With the discovery of vast reservoirs of oil and more cost
efficient ways of mining and developing petroleum products, developments in solar technology were halted. In
the 1970’s, the oil embargo by O.P.E.C. threatened commercial and industrial progress in the United States. The
Government’s Department of Energy financed the Federal
Photovoltaic Utilization Program that led to 3,000 installed
and tested units. Today, the government provides incentives for home and commercial building owners interested
in lessening their dependence on fossil fuel electricity.
The Opportunity to use photovoltaic (PV) or thermal solar
(TS) can be assessed by visiting the Website, “DSIRE SOLAR”.
To grasp the magnitude of the vast resource the sun is, we
must acknowledge some facts. Planet Earth is titled at an
angle of 23 ½ degrees to the sun and is 93,000,000 miles from
it. In 8 minutes and 32 seconds, light from the sun arrives to
planet Earth. A Joule (J) is a measurement of heat, work or
energy. An Exajoule (EJ) is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 Joules. In
2002 scientists recorded 3.85 EJ absorbed by the planet for that
year. If only one hour of this energy was collected and converted, it would supply the demand of the entire population
of planet Earth. On average this would be equivalent to 4,000
horsepower per acre.
Heat, light, infrared, ultra-violet, radio-waves and x-rays are all
forms of energy created when hydrogen at the suns core under
extreme pressure and temperature reacts like a thermonuclear
bomb fusing hydrogen to become helium. These particles
move at such high velocity that an electromagnetic field is
created. There are approximately seven layers from the core to
solar corona. Pressure at the center is 340 billion atmospheres
of our planet and generates 1.5 million degrees centigrade.
Again, energized atoms under pressure and temperature
cause vibrations sending short electromagnetic wavelengths
In light of depreciating oil reserves and peak oil being reached,
only indigenous, sustainable, renewable and stable energy
sources is the alternative. Let us see how much financial resources, the powers that be are willing to invest in this pressing
endeavor.
Fall is upon us and between September 22-24, we experience
Fall equinox in the Northern hemisphere and Spring equinox
in the Southern hemisphere. This event occurs the moment
the sun crosses the imaginary line in the sky above the equator
from north to south called the celestial equator. This enables us
to experience approximately 12 hours of day and 12 hours of
night. Interestingly, September 8-9 brought a full moon called
the harvest moon into focus. This event happens two weeks
before or two weeks after the fall equinox. It can be seen in dif-
ferent time zones and occurs when the full moons shadow line
running throughout North America represents sunset while the
shadow line crossing Western Asia depicts sunrise. Its beauty is
visible on the side of the planet experiencing night.
Until the Next Lights.
Justice, Unity, Equality and Love.
that transport heat and light to the surface. This in
essence, is how the sun works.
In an effort to harness this energy, the subject matter is divided
into two categories, Photovoltaic (PV) and thermal solar (TS)
power; the method used to trap it is passive or active. Both PV
and TS are active because equipment is required to convert the
energy to light and heat. Passive solar takes advantage of the
building, site, climate and materials to minimize energy use.
Manufacturing of photovoltaic cells to improve efficiency is
an evolving process. Many elements and combinations of
elements have been researched and tested to achieve the
highest level of purity and efficiency. Nonetheless, great effort
is necessary to catapult us to the next level of solar energy
excellence.
One thing is evident, the sun has always and will always continue to be our source of energy and life and is supplied to us
in 8 minutes and 32 seconds free of cost. More emphasis and
importance needs to be placed on developing more efficient
and adaptable technologies to enable the younger generations to enjoy a prosperous future on the planet we inherited
from our ancestors.
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“Come, mek we go reason now ‘bout pertinent happenings and discover
solutions for our problems.”
Magazine / September 2012
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