SCIE 1P50 Lecture Notes - Active Solar, Craps, Ecological Footprint
16 Feb 2012
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Document Summary
Passive solar energy: the most common way to harness solar energy. Buildings are designed to maximize direct absorption of sunlight in winter and keep cool in summer. Active solar energy collection: uses technology to focus, move or store solar energy. Solar energy has been used for hundreds of years. Photovoltaic cells: collect sunlight and concert it into electrical energy. Photovoltaic (photoelectric) effect: occurs when light strikes one of a pair or metal plates in a pv cell, causing the release of electrons, creating an electric current. Power tower: mirrors concentrate sunlight onto receivers to create electricity. Solar-trough collection systems: mirrors focus sunlight on oil in troughs. Wind turbines: devices that harness power from wind. Windmills have been used for 800 years to pump water to drain wetlands and irrigate craps and to grind grain into flour. The largest wind power producer in canada is the le nordais project in the gasp penninsula.
