Solar Energy | Hot! Hot! Hot!
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Think of the Sun as a constantly active hydrogen bomb: a swirling, mass with eruptions that give off great amounts of energy. Within the Sun's center, the temperature is about 25,000,000°F (14,000,000°C). About 700 million tons (635 million metric tons) of hydrogen fuse into 695 million tons (630 million metric tons) of helium each second. What happens to the missing five million tons of material? It is converted into solar energy. Besides heating and illuminating the Sun itself, some of this energy travels to Earth as sunlight.
How is some of this energy collected? One way is through the use of solar collectorsA device that absorbs sunlight and collects solar heat., flat devices made of aluminum, copper, or steel panels painted black. The black color helps to absorb the heat energy. The glass or plastic covering these panels enables light to enter, but...
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