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With the increasing concern of global warming and a need for a reliable and more affordable source of energy, an increasing number of house owners are now turning to using solar panel systems to generate electricity for their homes. Today the one source of energy that shows a lot of potential and promise is the solar energy, which can be easily harnessed with the help of solar panels. What Are The Solar Panels? Also known as photovoltaic panels or modules, the solar panels are the assemblies of cells that are interconnected, and can easily generate electricity by trapping the light energy provided by sun. They are basically comprised of the solar cells that are formed in a grid-like shape and are usually made of silicon. How Do The Solar Panel Systems Work? To appreciate the use of solar panels, it is important that you first understand the science that works behind solar panels, and know how it works. The silicon is the main element that plays an important role in making the solar panels work. A silicon atom actually comprises of four electrons present in its natural state, however it has the capacity to hold eight electrons, which means that there's space for four more. When a silicon atom merges with another silicon atom, they amalgamate their four electrons to create a complete unit of eight electrons. As both the atoms satisfy each other's requirements, there's no such negative or positive charge, hence no exceeding or lacking of electrons. If you wish to generate electricity then you need both positive and negative charge. To make a negative charge, the silicon atom is merged with an atom which has more than four different electrons to share. The phosphorous is a perfect example of such an atom. When phosphorous is merged with silicon, they form a stable unit of eight electrons with an additional electron which comes along for free. Although this extra electron is not needed, it cannot leave as it is attached to other phosphorous atoms. Thus, this silicon-phosphorous combination is now taken as negatively charged. A positive charge must also be created to generate electricity and this is made possible by merging silicon with an atom which has just three electrons to share. When boron is merged with silicon, there are seven electrons in total with an empty space for another electron and this emptiness leads to a positively charged combination. Now the silicon- phosphorous combination results into a negatively charged plate, and the silicon-boron combination results in a positively charged plate. These two plates are then brought together with wires running between them. When the negatively charged plate is pointed towards the sun, the solar energy from the sun known as photon attacks the combination of silicon/phosphorous and it knocks off the 13th electron. As there is an opening present in the positively charged silicon/boron plate, the additional electron gets attracted to it. As this process continues and more electrons are broken off, electricity gets generated. Thus, using a Solar Panel system is a simple and cost effective method to use sun's energy to generate electricity for your home.
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