Timeline of solar power
From Timelines
This is a timeline of solar power.
Contents
Big picture
| Time period | Development summary | More details |
|---|
Full timeline
| Year | Event type | Details | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7th century BC | "In theory, solar energy was used by humans as early as 7th century B.C. when history tells us that humans used sunlight to light fires with magnifying glass materials. "[1] | ||
| 3rd century BC | "Later, in 3rd century B.C., the Greeks and Romans were known to harness solar power with mirrors to light torches for religious ceremonies. These mirrors became a normalized tool referred to as “burning mirrors.”"[1] | ||
| 20 AD | "The Chinese civilization documents the use of mirrors for the same purpose later in 20 A.D."[1] | China | |
| Late 1700s – 1800s | Researchers and scientists have success using sunlight to power ovens for long voyages. They also harness the power of the sun to produce solar-powered steam boats.[1] | ||
| 1873 | "In 1873, Willoughby Smith discovered that selenium had photoconductive potential"[1] | ||
| 1876 | "William Grylls Adams’ and Richard Evans Day’s 1876 discovery that selenium creates electricity when exposed to sunlight."[1] | ||
| 1883 | "1883, Charles Fritts actually produced the first solar cells made from selenium wafers – the reason some historians credit Fritts with the actual invention of solar cells."[1] | ||
| 1954 | " Therefore, some consider the true invention of solar panels to be tied to Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson’s creation of the silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell at Bell Labs in 1954. Many argue that this event marks the true invention of PV technology because it was the first instance of a solar technology that could actually power an electric device for several hours of a day"[1] | ||
| 1957 – 1960 | " Between 1957 and 1960, Hoffman Electronics made a number of breakthroughs with photovoltaic efficiency, improving the efficiency record from 8% to 14%."[1] | ||
| 1958 | "n 1958, the Vanguard I satellite used a tiny one-watt panel to power its radios. Later that year the Vanguard II, Explorer III and Sputnik-3 were all launched with PV technology on board."[1] | ||
| 1964 | "In 1964, NASA was responsible for launching the first Nimbus spacecraft, a satellite able to run entirely on a 470 watt solar array."[1] | ||
| 1966 | " In 1966, NASA launched the world’s first Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, powered by a one-kilowatt array."[1] | ||
| 1973 | " In 1973, the University of Delaware was responsible for constructing the first solar building, named “Solar One.” The system ran on a hybrid supply of solar thermal and solar PV power. It was also the first instance of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)"[1] |
Meta information on the timeline
How the timeline was built
The initial version of the timeline was written by FIXME.
Funding information for this timeline is available.
Feedback and comments
Feedback for the timeline can be provided at the following places:
- FIXME
