The story begins in 1839 when the young French physicist Edmond Becquerel observed and discovered the photoelectric effect, in which a substance produces voltage or current under the influence of electromagnetic waves.
Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for his explanation of the photoelectric phenomenon and his understanding of how light produces electricity.
In 1883, New York inventor Charles Fritz developed the first solar cell using a thin layer of gold and selenium, marking the beginning of solar cell technology.
Interestingly, the following year Thomas Edison brought the world's first commercial coal-fired power station into operation.
Fritz claimed that his invention would provide "a very efficient direct current". However, the conversion efficiency of the coal-fired power plant was no higher than 2%.
Today, solar panels have an efficiency of 15-20%.
The so-called solar cell technology is named after Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist and chemist who is considered a pioneer in the field of electricity and energy.
The terms "solar cells" and "solar energy" are often confused because they sound very similar. In this article, we explain the difference between the two terms.
In 1954, American scientists at Bell Laboratories developed the first organic silicon battery, which was more efficient than selenium batteries, with an efficiency of 6%.
Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2008.
The problem with this invention, however, is that it is very expensive. Silicon cells are expensive to make and solar cells made from them are even more expensive.
In the 1970s and 1980s, solar energy boomed in the US because of the energy crisis.
Since then, the price of this technology has fallen on the world market over the years.