Solar System:

Sun and The Solar Energy

Introduction:

Our Sun in Solar System.

The Sun is the most prominent feature in our solar system. It is the largest
object and contains approximately 98% of the total solar system mass. One hundred
and nine Earths would be required to fit across the Sun's disk, and its interior could
hold over 1.3 million Earths. The Sun's outer visible layer is called the photosphere
and has a temperature of 6,000°C (11,000°F). This layer has a mottled appearance due
to the turbulent eruptions of energy at the surface.

Solar energy is created deep within the core of the Sun. It is here that the
temperature (15,000,000° C; 27,000,000° F) and pressure (340 billion times Earth's air
pressure at sea level) is so intense that nuclear reactions take place. This reaction
causes four protons or hydrogen nuclei to fuse together to form one alpha particle or
helium nucleus. The alpha particle is about .7 percent less massive than the four
protons. The difference in mass is expelled as energy and is carried to the surface of
the Sun, through a process known as convection, where it is released as light and heat.
Energy generated in the Sun's core takes a million years to reach its surface. Every
second 700 million tons of hydrogen are converted into helium ashes. In the process 5
million tons of pure energy is released; therefore, as time goes on the Sun is becoming
lighter.

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 Solar System:
Sun and The Solar Energy

Different layers in the Sun.

The chromosphere is above the photosphere. Solar energy passes through this
region on its way out from the center of the Sun. Faculae and flares arise in the
chromosphere. Faculae are bright luminous hydrogen clouds which form above
regions where sunspots are about to form. Flares are bright filaments of hot gas
emerging from sunspot regions. Sunspots are dark depressions on the photosphere
with a typical temperature of 4,000°C (7,000°F).

The corona is the outer part of the Sun's atmosphere. It is in this region that
prominences appear. Prominences are immense clouds of glowing gas that erupt from
the upper chromosphere. The outer region of the corona stretches far into space and
consists of particles traveling slowly away from the Sun. The corona can only be seen
during total solar eclipses.

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 Solar System:
Sun and The Solar Energy

The Sun appears to have been active for 4.6 billion years and has enough fuel to
go on for another five billion years or so. At the end of its life, the Sun will start to
fuse helium into heavier elements and begin to swell up; ultimately growing so large
that it will swallow the Earth. After a billion years as a red giant, it will suddenly
collapse into a white dwarf -- the final end product of a star like ours. It may take a
trillion years to cool off completely.

Sun Statistics:

Mass (kg) 1.989e+30

Mass (Earth = 1) 332,830
Equatorial radius (km) 695,000
Equatorial radius (Earth = 1) 108.97
Mean density (gm/cm^3) 1.410
Rotational period (days) 25-36*
Escape velocity (km/sec) 618.02
Luminosity (ergs/sec) 3.827e33
Magnitude (Vo) -26.8
Mean surface temperature 6,000°C
Age (billion years) 4.5

Principal chemistry:

Hydrogen 92.1%
Helium 7.8%
Oxygen 0.061%
Carbon 0.030%
Nitrogen 0.0084%
Neon 0.0076%
Iron 0.0037%
Silicon 0.0031%
Magnesium 0.0024%
Sulfur 0.0015%
All others 0.0015%

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 Solar System:
Sun and The Solar Energy

Solar Energy:
Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that has been harnessed
by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar
radiation along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power,
hydroelectricity and biomass account for most of the available renewable energy on
Earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used. Solar power
provides electrical generation by means of heat engines or photovoltaics.

Six dish Stirling Systems developed by Schlaich Bergermann und Partner of Stuttgart,
Germany, in operation at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria in Spain. The three dishes in the
foreground are second-generation systems. The systems produce 10 kW of power from a
Solo Kleinmotoren engine.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as passive solar and active solar
techniques. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels and solar
thermal collectors to convert sunlight into useful outputs. Passive solar techniques
include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal
mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.

Energy from the Sun:

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 Solar System:
Sun and The Solar Energy

The Earth receives 174 petawatts (PW) of incoming solar radiation (insolation)
at the upper atmosphere. Approximately 30% is reflected back to space while the rest
is absorbed by clouds, oceans and land masses. The spectrum of solar light at the
Earth's surface is mostly spread across the visible and near-infrared ranges with a
small part in the near-ultraviolet.

Earth's land surface, oceans and atmosphere absorb solar radiation, and this
raises their temperature. Warm air containing evaporated water from the oceans rises,
causing atmospheric circulation or convection. When the air reaches a high altitude,
where the temperature is low, water vapor condenses into clouds, which rain onto the
Earth's surface, completing the water cycle. The latent heat of water condensation
amplifies convection, producing atmospheric phenomena such as wind, cyclones and
anti-cyclones. Sunlight absorbed by the oceans and land masses keeps the surface at
an average temperature of 14 °C. By photosynthesis green plants convert solar energy
into chemical energy, which produces food, wood and the biomass from which fossil
fuels are derived.

About half the incoming solar energy reaches the Earth's surface.

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 Solar System:
Sun and The Solar Energy

The total solar energy absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land masses
is approximately 3,850,000 exajoules (EJ) per year. In 2002, this was more energy in
one hour than the world used in one year. Photosynthesis captures approximately
3,000 EJ per year in biomass. The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the
planet is so vast that in one year it is about twice as much as will ever be obtained
from all of the Earth's non-renewable resources of coal, oil, natural gas, and mined
uranium combined.

Yearly Solar fluxes & Human Energy Consumption

Solar 3,850,000 EJ

Wind 2,250 EJ

Biomass 3,000 EJ

Primary energy use (2005) 487 EJ

Electricity (2005) 56.7 EJ

From the table of resources it would appear that solar, wind or biomass would
be sufficient to supply all of our energy needs, however, the increased use of biomass
has had a negative effect on global warming and dramatically increased food prices by
diverting forests and crops into biofuel production. As intermittent resources, solar and
wind raise other issues.

Applications of Solar Technology:

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 Solar System:
Sun and The Solar Energy

Solar energy refers primarily to the use of solar radiation for practical ends.
However, all renewable energies, other than geothermal and tidal, derive their energy
from the sun.

Average insolation showing land area (small black dots) required to replace the world
primary energy supply with solar electricity. 18 TW is 568 Exajoule (EJ) per year. Insolation
for most people is from 150 to 300 W/m² or 3.5 to 7.0 kWh/m²/day.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive or active

depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight. Active solar
techniques use photovoltaic panels, pumps, and fans to convert sunlight into useful
outputs. Passive solar techniques include selecting materials with favorable thermal
properties, designing spaces that naturally circulate air, and referencing the position of
a building to the Sun. Active solar technologies increase the supply of energy and are
considered supply side technologies, while passive solar technologies reduce the need
for alternate resources and are generally considered demand side technologies.

Architecture and urban planning:

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 Solar System:
Sun and The Solar Energy

The common features of passive solar architecture are orientation relative to the
Sun, compact proportion, selective shading and thermal mass. When these features are
tailored to the local climate and environment they can produce well-lit spaces that stay
in a comfortable temperature range. The most recent approaches to solar design use
computer modeling tying together solar lighting, heating and ventilation systems in an
integrated solar design package. Active solar equipment such as pumps, fans and
switchable windows can complement passive design and improve system
performance.

Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany won the 2007 Solar Decathlon in

Washington, D.C. with this passive house designed specifically for the humid and hot
subtropical climate.

Urban heat islands (UHI) are metropolitan areas with higher temperatures than
that of the surrounding environment. The higher temperatures are a result of increased
absorption of the Solar light by urban materials such as asphalt and concrete, which
have lower albedos and higher heat capacities than those in the natural environment. A
straightforward method of counteracting the UHI effect is to paint buildings and roads
white and plant trees.

Agriculture and horticulture:

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 Solar System:
Sun and The Solar Energy

Agriculture seeks to optimize the capture of solar energy in order to optimize

the productivity of plants. Techniques such as timed planting cycles, tailored row
orientation, staggered heights between rows and the mixing of plant varieties can
improve crop yields. While sunlight is generally considered a plentiful resource, the
exceptions highlight the importance of solar energy to agriculture. During the short
growing seasons of the Little Ice Age, French and English farmers employed fruit
walls to maximize the collection of solar energy. These walls acted as thermal masses
and accelerated ripening by keeping plants warm. Early fruit walls were built
perpendicular to the ground and facing south, but over time, sloping walls were
developed to make better use of sunlight. In 1699, Nicolas Fatio de Duillier even
suggested using a tracking mechanism which could pivot to follow the Sun.
Applications of solar energy in agriculture aside from growing crops include pumping
water, drying crops, brooding chicks and drying chicken manure. More recently the
technology has been embraced by vinters, who use the energy generated by solar
panels to power grape presses.

Greenhouses like these in the Westland municipality of the Netherlands grow vegetables,
fruits and flowers.

Greenhouses convert solar light to heat, enabling year-round production and the
growth (in enclosed environments) of specialty crops and other plants not naturally
suited to the local climate. Primitive greenhouses were first used during Roman times
to produce cucumbers year-round for the Roman emperor Tiberius. The first modern
greenhouses were built in Europe in the 16th century to keep exotic plants brought
back from explorations abroad. Greenhouses remain an important part of horticulture
today, and plastic transparent materials have also been used to similar effect in
polytunnels and row covers.

Solar Lighting:

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Sun and The Solar Energy

Daylighting systems collect and distribute sunlight to provide interior

illumination. Although difficult to quantify, the use of natural lighting also offers
physiological and psychological benefits compared to artificial lighting. Daylighting
design implies careful selection of window types, sizes and orientation; exterior
shading devices may be considered as well. Individual features include sawtooth roofs,
clerestory windows, light shelves, skylights and light tubes. When daylighting features
are properly implemented they can reduce lighting-related energy requirements by
25%.

Daylighting features such as this oculus at the top of the Pantheon, in Rome, Italy have been in use
since antiquity.

Although daylight saving time is promoted as a way to use sunlight to save

energy, recent research has been limited and reports contradictory results: several
studies report savings, but just as many suggest no effect or even a net loss,
particularly when gasoline consumption is taken into account.

Solar Thermal:

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Sun and The Solar Energy

Solar thermal technologies can be used for water heating, space heating, space
cooling and process heat generation.

Solar House #1 of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, built in 1939, used
seasonal thermal storage for year-round heating.
Solar water heaters facing the Sun
to maximize gain.

Application of SODIS technology in Indonesia to water disinfection.

Advantages of Solar Energy:
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 Solar System:
Sun and The Solar Energy

 After the initial investment has been recovered, the energy from the sun is
practically free
 It's not affected by the supply and demand of fuel and is therefore not
subjected to the ever-increasing price of gasoline.
 Solar Energy is clean, renewable (unlike gas, oil and coal) and
sustainable, helping to protect our environment.
 It does not pollute our air by releasing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide,
sulphur dioxide or mercury into the atmosphere like many traditional
forms of electrical generation does.
 Therefore Solar Energy does not contribute to global warming, acid rain
or smog.
 By not using any fuel, Solar Energy does not contribute to the cost and
problems of the recovery and transportation of fuel or the storage of
radioactive waste.

Disadvantages of Solar Energy:

 The initial cost is the main disadvantage of installing a solar energy

system, largely because of the high cost of the semi-conducting materials
used in building one.
 The cost of solar energy is also high compared to non-renewable utility-
supplied electricity. As energy shortages are becoming more common,
solar energy is becoming more price-competitive.
 Solar panels require quite a large area for installation to achieve a good
level of efficiency.
 The efficiency of the system also relies on the location of the sun,
although this problem can be overcome with the installation of certain
components.
 The production of solar energy is influenced by the presence of clouds or
pollution in the air and no solar energy produced during night time.

As we can see there are many solar energy advantages compared to its
disadvantages. Disadvantages can be found in any product or system, but it is
important to know that they can be managed in this case. Therefore our solar system
which consists of abundant energy has lot of hopes to provide renewable energy and
save scarce resources of energy. The only need is for channelizing maximum energy
to its proper use which we can manage using modern technologies available to us.

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