Solar Energy

There are two major ways to harvest solar energy. These methods of capturing solar energy include solar thermal generators and the photovoltaic effect (method behind solar cell). In solar thermal generators, the heat from solar radiation is captured to run turbines in order to generate electricity, whereas in the photovoltaic effect, electron-hole pair is generated for photon energy greater than the bandgap of the semiconductor material, creating a photovoltaic cell or solar cell. Both of these methods are explained in detail in the following posts.

Solar Energy Through Solar Cells