The Challenge
To build a car that operates on solar energy:
- Wheels, engine, and materials are provided.
- Use gear ratio to make the most efficiently operated car.
- Build the car from scratch.
- Tools will be provided.
- Wheels, engine, and materials are provided.
- Use gear ratio to make the most efficiently operated car.
- Build the car from scratch.
- Tools will be provided.
The Google Sketch Up Blue Prints
This does not show the gears or solar panel to provide a clear view of the frame of the car.
Where is solar energy used?
Solar energy is by far the most abundant resource available on Earth. Without the sun, the planet could not survive. With it, we can not only stay warm and grow food, but also power our homes and heat our water and living spaces. Yet as abundant as solar power is, it still provides a minuscule percentage of global energy consumption, although that percentage is growing steadily - faster in some places than others. By far the most installed megawatts of solar power in the world are in Germany. This unlikely world leader has used a combination of lucrative incentives, including a valuable feed-in tariff that pays solar electricity producers extra for their renewable power. Other countries have followed suit, especially in Europe. Spain became the world leader in solar thermal power production through feed-in tariff laws. France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Italy and several other EU nations have done the same. Therefore, Europe has become the global headquarters for solar energy use. In the United States, California is easily the solar leader, representing roughly half of all solar power generated in the country. California alone rose to become the 3rd largest solar energy market in the world. The U.S., especially the Southwest region, has incredible solar potential and could be just a feed-in tariff and some environmental issues away from being the solar leader. However, there are plans to install solar farms of unprecedented size in the deserts of North Africa, possibly enough to power all of Europe.
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What is a Photovoltaic Cell?
solar cell: a cell that converts solar energy into electrical energy.
What is the Panasonic Solar Challenge?
The World Solar Challenge is a biennial solar-powered car race which covers 3,021 km (1,877 mi) through the Australian Outback, from Darwin to Adelaide. The race attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations although some are fielded by high schools. The race has a 20-year history spanning nine races, with the inaugural event taking place in 1987.
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Solar Cells Are Made Of Silicon - describe
A solar cell (also called a photovoltaic cell) is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. It is a form of photoelectric cell (in that its electrical characteristics-- e.g. current, voltage, or resistance-- vary when light is incident upon it) which, when exposed to light, can generate and support an electric current without being attached to any external voltage source.
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What is the effectiveness of Solar?
Many people are under the impression that solar electric power is not cost effective compared to grid power. However that is not entirely correct. News articles indicate that photovoltaics are already cost effective in Hawaii and some parts of California. Photovoltaics are also cheaper than electric grid power if you wish to power a remote home that is more than 2 miles from the nearest power line. That is because the electric company will charge at least $20,000 to extend the power lines two miles to a single home. Diesel electric generators (and other fossil fuel burning generators) have relatively low up front costs, but over a 30 year period they will cost a lot to maintain and fuel.
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What is a Power Tower?
A power tower converts sunshine into clean electricity for the world’s electricity grids. The technology utilizes many large, sun-tracking mirrors (heliostats) to focus sunlight on a receiver at the top of a tower. A heat transfer fluid heated in the receiver is used to generate steam, which, in turn, is used in a conventional turbine-generator to produce electricity. Early power towers (such as the Solar One plant) utilized steam as the heat transfer fluid; current designs (including Solar Two, pictured at the right) utilize molten nitrate salt because of its superior heat transfer and energy storage capabilities.
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End product
Our solar car works well overall. There is a bit of a lapse between a gear which prevents the car from moving. We worked on this by drilling a new hole closer to the engine so that the lapse was closed. We then worked on sanding the plastic that stuck out and replacing the gears to improve speed. Our final project works and moves well.