Thread: Solar panels?

Originally Posted by Ausi319

what do solar panels use to power?
sunlight?

or some thing like radio waves or something we cant c

because i think its some wave we cant c...


What if you would make your own solar panel then.
It would b less expencive and then u could sell them to other people to keep making them.

how would that work?

solar panels use solars to make energy. Basically invisible spirits that fly around. It is the same stuff that bees can see to guide them to flowers. Ever wonder why flowers are yellow? It is the same solars from the sun.

There are some waves we cannot see. Water can absorb them, and begin to oscillate at the same frequency. You can see this for yourself if you put a glass of water on something very flat and very still. Give it a few hours, and you should see tiny waves in the water. The longer you wait, the bigger the ripples.

You can make your own solar cell. Easiest way is to harvest a lot of yellow flowers. Soak them in some vinegar overnight (you can get it at a grocery store). Then put in about 3 ounces of baking soda and stir. If you have done it correctly, you should see some foam. Harvest this foam and place between 2 sheets of glass or plastic. Attach 2 wires and point it at the sun. Voila, homemade solar cell.

Originally Posted by Bugbyte

1. Broken solar cells are actually more efficient than unbroken ones. Remember, the key to solar power is density. By compacting the solar cells, you get far more cell surface per inch than just a single flat panel. I use a BlendTek blender to increase the density of mine.

2. 1500ma X 7.2v = 10,800MegaAmpVolts. Use ten 1 farad capacitors in parallel to store the energy from the solar cells and you'll be fine.

3. Series. Definitely. You need a whole series of cells to make this work.

4. Not sure what you're asking here.

5. Make sure you are wearing sunglasses or number 1 welding goggles when running the cells at night as the light leaks out it will briefly exceed 1m candlepower. Or, just look the other way and wait for the flash.

For number 1 what do you mean exactally.

and for number 5 what does the solar panel actually use anyway?

Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

Everything in this thread is BS. This forum where you are posting is dedicated to putting computers in cars... real cars. So we are geeks, and as such have a very high sarcasm level. You seem to be missing out on this. Either english is not your first language or I feel very very sorry for the school system of where you live.

The rest I will answer you truthfully, and if you ask 1 more idiotic question without reason or research, I give up and go back to being sarcastic with the rest of them.

1) Not without a microscope. A solar panel looks like the picture. That means the layers are essentially a sandwich and the whole thing is usually a millimeter or maybe 2mm. You need a wire on 2 of those layers. A full cell has those already with big pads for you to solder to, so you can actually use it. If it is broken, and you dont have the pre-made pads, how will you get to the layers? You cant.

2) Anything that gives out 11W minimum. Now the ratings on solar cells will be higher than what you get. The ratings are for higher elevations on a clear bright sunny summer day. On a partially cloudy day at sea level, you wont get anything near what it says. So you will need much more than that 11W to make it self powered. If you keep the battery in, it will just draw out the battery life which seems like what you want.

3) Depends on what cell you buy. If you get a bunch of puny 7v ones, then in parallel to add the maximum current output. If you buy high current 1v ones, then wire them in series to get maximum voltage.

4) If they hit you it willl destroy the solar panel. IT IS A SMALL PIECE OF GLASS. It is brittle. If you get smacked, or if you smack it, it will shatter. That simple. Maybe not shatter but break, and then best case scenario is the side with the solder pads remains intact meaning you still get some energy from the cell, but it goes down by a lot. (ratio of how much area got snapped off). If you get a solar cell, it becomes a gentle ride. Maybe encase it in silica but then you (a) lower the maximum energy it can produce, and (b) make everything much heavier, meaning you get lower battery time in the long run anyways.

5) Think on this one... I know you are 15, but I am only 20. I was finishing my 2nd year of highschool at your age. A solar cell uses photons to transfer its energy. If there is no light, then there are no photons. No photons means no energy transfer. Means no power. It will run on batteries only. You can shine a halogen lamp over it, but it is not the same as the sun...

people are saying reverse the wires for it and it will run at night also i dont get it then

Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

solar panels use solars to make energy. Basically invisible spirits that fly around. It is the same stuff that bees can see to guide them to flowers. Ever wonder why flowers are yellow? It is the same solars from the sun.

There are some waves we cannot see. Water can absorb them, and begin to oscillate at the same frequency. You can see this for yourself if you put a glass of water on something very flat and very still. Give it a few hours, and you should see tiny waves in the water. The longer you wait, the bigger the ripples.

You can make your own solar cell. Easiest way is to harvest a lot of yellow flowers. Soak them in some vinegar overnight (you can get it at a grocery store). Then put in about 3 ounces of baking soda and stir. If you have done it correctly, you should see some foam. Harvest this foam and place between 2 sheets of glass or plastic. Attach 2 wires and point it at the sun. Voila, homemade solar cell.

how would you know what the volts and mA are of it then?

Originally Posted by Ausi319

how would you know what the volts and mA are of it then?

Use a multimeter for exact measurements.

or if you dont have one there are 2 common methods:

a) stick your tongue to it. Just like a 9v battery when you stick it on your tongue, this works the same way. The bigger the schock the more voltage there is. Since you are going for 7.2v, you want something with just a little less shock then a new 9v battery.

b) This method is not as exact, and supposed to be just a rough estimate until you do a proper measurement. Every petal that you put in the initial vinegar bath will give you about 1mW of power. You should crush them with a mortar and pestal first to release all of their solars. So every 100 petals gives you a watt of power. So 1100 petals gives you the 11W. Put a 7.2volt regulator on it, and you get the correct current.

Watts = Volts * Amps

Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

b) This method is not as exact, and supposed to be just a rough estimate until you do a proper measurement. Every petal that you put in the initial vinegar bath will give you about 1mW of power. You should crush them with a mortar and pestal first to release all of their solars. So every 100 petals gives you a watt of power. So 1100 petals gives you the 11W. Put a 7.2volt regulator on it, and you get the correct current.

Watts = Volts * Amps

You do realize, that even though you warned him, you're still going to hell.

Originally Posted by Ausi319

For number 1 what do you mean exactally.

and for number 5 what does the solar panel actually use anyway?

For #1, he means compacting the solars basically. Think of it as a bunch of cereal. From the factory it takes a huge box. Now if you crush all the cereal up, you put the same amount of cereal in a much much smaller box. Now when you do this with solars, you can fit more of them on the same panel. So more power in the same area.

And solar panels use solars.

Originally Posted by danielkh

You do realize, that even though you warned him, you're still going to hell.

Lots of solars in hell (I hear it is a bright place)... Must be a pretty place with all those flowers.