Bell Telephone Scientists Develop the Photovoltaic Cell
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History II: Science and Technology Series
- Categories: Science, Technology, Inventions
- Subcategories: Scientists, Physics, Physicists, Energy, Fuel, Power Sources
- Curriculum: American History 1951-present
- Geographical Location: New Jersey
- Date: May, 1954
Article abstract: Pearson, Fuller, and Chapin, of Bell Telephone Laboratories, developed the photovoltaic cell, which produces electrical power from sunlight.
Summary of Event
Sunlight was first converted into electrical power in 1839 when French physicist Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel immersed two metal plates into a conducting fluid and exposed the apparatus to the sun. A small but observable voltage was generated. In 1873, Willoughby Smith discovered that selenium, a semiconductor, was sensitive to light. Further investigations proved that an electrical...
[The entire page is 2131 words long]
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