Question | Answer |
---|---|
The ultimate source of solar radiation is | nuclear fusion in the Sun. |
Today, the solar altitude is at a maximum around | noon |
Earth is closest to the Sun during the | Northern Hemisphere winter. |
Earth is closest to the Sun in | January |
What is solar radiation and how is it used?
Solar radiation, often called the solar resource or just sunlight, is a general term for the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun.Solar radiation can be captured and turned into useful forms of energy, such as heat and electricity, using a variety of technologies.
What type of radiation is emitted from the Sun?
(Show more) solar radiation, electromagnetic radiation, including X-rays, ultraviolet and infrared radiation, and radio emissions, as well as visible light, emanating from the Sun. Of the 3.8 × 10 33 ergs emitted by the Sun every second, about 1 part in 120 million is received by its attendant planets and their satellites.
Could solar energy become the ultimate energy source?
Wind and water constitute important renewable and clean sources of energy, but solar energy could potentially become the ultimate resource. There are multiple advantages to the use of solar energy.
How can solar radiation be turned into energy?
Solar radiation can be captured and turned into useful forms of energy, such as heat and electricity, using a variety of technologies. However, the technical feasibility and economical operation of these technologies at a specific location depends on the available solar resource.
What is the source of solar radiation?
Solar radiation, often called the solar resource or just sunlight, is a general term for the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun. Solar radiation can be captured and turned into useful forms of energy, such as heat and electricity, using a variety of technologies.
What is the ultimate source of energy?
The sunThe sun is the ultimate source of almost all kinds of energy on earth, either directly or indirectly. Fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) are the transformed forms of plants (and animals) which once lived on the earth and grew capturing the energy of the sun.
Which is the ultimate source of energy that powers the solar panel?
sunlightPhotovoltaics. Photovoltaic or solar electric systems use the sun's light energy to generate electricity. When sunlight strikes a chemically treated silicon photovoltaic cell, electrons inside become excited and move through the silicon.
What is an example of solar radiation?
Solar radiation includes visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared, radio waves, X-rays, and gamma rays.
Is the ultimate source of heat?
Ultimate sorce of energy is the Sun. Living beings depend on the Sun for its sustainability. All other other sources of energy directly or indirectly are depended on the energy recieved by the Sun.
What is the ultimate source of energy for most forms of life on earth?
3.1 The Sun is the major source of energy for organisms and the ecosystems of which they are a part. Producers such as plants, algae, and cyanobacteria use the energy from sunlight to make organic matter from carbon dioxide and water. This establishes the beginning of energy flow through almost all food webs.
What is the ultimate source of energy of producers?
Sunlight is the ultimate source of energy in an ecosystem. The producers (green plants) capture this energy and convert it to chemical form in organic molecules.
Which is the ultimate source of energy Mcq?
Explanation: (b) Sun is the ultimate source of energy directly or indirectly, all the form of energy are desired from solar energy.
What is direct solar radiation?
Direct radiation is defined as radiation which has not experienced scattering in the atmosphere, so that it is directionally fixed, coming from the disc of the Sun. From: Renewable Energy (Third Edition), 2004.
What are the components of solar radiation?
Ordinarily, sunlight is broken down into three major components: (1) visible light, with wavelengths between 0.4 and 0.8 micrometre, (2) ultraviolet light, with wavelengths shorter than 0.4 micrometre, and (3) infrared radiation, with wavelengths longer than 0.8 micrometre.
Is solar radiation infrared?
Full Spectrum of Solar Radiation IR is divided into far-infrared (FIR) and near-infrared (NIR). UV is usually sub-divided into UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C radiation. Approximately 6% of the full solar radiation falling on the earth is UV.
What is solar radiation?
(Show more) Solar radiation, electromagnetic radiation, including X-rays, ultraviolet and infrared radiation, and radio emissions, as well as visible light, emanating from the Sun.
How much energy does the Sun produce?
The energy output of the Sun has its peak at a wavelength of 0.47 micrometre (0.000019 inch; a micrometre is 10 −6 metre), and the Sun radiates about 8 kilowatts per square cm of its surface. Harold Zirin.
What is solar radiation?
Solar Radiation Basics. Solar radiation, often called the solar resource or just sunlight, is a general term for the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun. Solar radiation can be captured and turned into useful forms of energy, such as heat and electricity, using a variety of technologies.
Why is solar energy important?
The solar resource across the United States is ample for photovoltaic (PV) systems because they use both direct and scattered sunlight. Other technologies may be more limited. However, the amount of power generated by any solar technology at a particular site depends on how much of the sun's energy reaches it.
What is the sum of diffuse and direct solar radiation?
The sum of the diffuse and direct solar radiation is called global solar radiation. Atmospheric conditions can reduce direct beam radiation by 10% on clear, dry days and by 100% during thick, cloudy days.
How do scientists measure solar energy?
Scientists measure the amount of sunlight falling on specific locations at different times of the year. They then estimate the amount of sunlight falling on regions at the same latitude with similar climates. Measurements of solar energy are typically expressed as total radiation on a horizontal surface,or as total radiation on a surface tracking ...
How is solar energy measured?
Measurements of solar energy are typically expressed as total radiation on a horizontal surface,or as total radiation on a surface tracking the sun. Radiation data for solar electric (photovoltaic) systems are often represented as kilowatt-hours per square meter (kWh/m 2 ). Direct estimates of solar energy may also be expressed as watts per square ...
Why do polar regions never get a high sun?
The more slanted the sun's rays are, the longer they travel through the atmosphere, becoming more scattered and diffuse. Because the Earth is round, the frigid polar regions never get a high sun, and because of the tilted axis of rotation, these areas receive no sun at all during part of the year.
What angle does the Sun strike the Earth?
Because the Earth is round, the sun strikes the surface at different angles, ranging from 0° (just above the horizon) to 90° (directly overhead). When the sun's rays are vertical, the Earth's surface gets all the energy possible.

Collecting and Using Solar Thermal (Heat) Energy
- An example of an early solar energy collection device is the solar oven (a box for collecting and absorbing sunlight). In the 1830s, British astronomer John Herschel used a solar oven to cook food during an expedition to Africa. People now use many different technologies for collecting a…
Solar Photovoltaic Systems Convert Sunlight Into Electricity
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) devices, or solar cells, change sunlight directly into electricity. Small PV cells can power calculators, watches, and other small electronic devices. Arrangements of many solar cells in PV panels and arrangements of multiple PV panels in PV arrays can produce electricity for an entire house. Some PV power plants have large arrays that cover many acres t…
Solar Energy Has Benefits and Some Limitations
- Using solar energy has two main benefits: 1. Solar energy systems do not produce air pollutants or carbon dioxide. 2. Solar energy systems on buildings have minimal effects on the environment. Solar energy also has some limitations: 1. The amount of sunlight that arrives at the earth's surface is not constant. The amount of sunlight varies depending on location, time of day, seaso…