Just look around and you are sure to see solar power being used in a most diverse range of applications and ways everywhere around you. Solar power is being touted, and justifiably so, as the next big thing in energy production, along with wind power, hydro power and other such alternative energy sources. It therefore becomes tremendously important to find out more about solar power and how it can help us avoid an imminent energy crisis in the not-too-distant future. Sun’s energy is transmitted through its rays which contain copious amounts of electromagnetic waves. Did you know that of the total amount of radiation received by the earth, about seventy percent actually gets absorbed by the earth’s surface, water bodies and vegetation, while the rest is usually reflected back into space?
The radiation that is absorbed by the earth’s surface is actually responsible for heating the atmosphere, generating what is known as radiant heat. In fact, solar radiation is directly responsible for about 99% of the usable flux of the renewable energy on earth. However, the actual scope and range of usage of solar power, along with how costly or cheap it would all be, depend primarily on the efficiency with which the incumbent radiation is utilized by the existent solar power technology.
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