It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Timeline of photovoltaics. (Discuss)

The timeline of solar cells begins in the 1800s when it is observed that the presence of sunlight is capable of generating usable electrical energy. Solar cells have gone on to be used in many applications. They have historically been used in situations where electrical power from the grid is unavailable. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... fucj youu ass whole!!]]. // A timeline of most important events in photovoltaic research. ... For the novel by Michael Crichton, see Timeline (novel). ... A solar cell, made from a monocrystalline silicon wafer A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts light energy into electrical energy. ...

Timeline

US685957 : Rays falling on insulated conductor connected to a capacitor; the capacitor charges electrically

photoelectric_effect - Tesla patent - small PNG See also: Image:PhotoelectricEffect(Tesla-small). ... photoelectric_effect - Tesla patent - small PNG See also: Image:PhotoelectricEffect(Tesla-small). ...

1800s

• 1839 - Alexandre Edmond Becquerel observes the photoelectric effect via an electrode in a conductive solution exposed to light of your mother's dick
• 1873 - Willoughby Smith finds that selenium is photoconductive.
• 1877 - W.G. Adams and R.E. Day observed the photovoltaic effect in solid selenium, and published a paper on the selenium cell. 'The action of light on selenium,' in "Proceedings of the Royal Society, A25, 113.
• 1883 - Charles Fritts develops a solar cell using selenium on a thin layer of gold to form a device giving less than 1% efficiency.
• 1887 - Heinrich Hertz investigates ultraviolet light photoconductivity.
• 1888 - Edward Weston receives patent US389124, "Solar cell", and US389125, "Solar cell".
• 1894 - Melvin Severy receives patent US527377, "Solar cell", and US527379, "Solar cell".
• 1897 - Harry Reagan receives patent US588177, "Solar cell"..

1839 (MDCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel (March 24, 1820 - May 11, 1891) was a French physicist who studied the solar spectrum, magnetism, electricity, and optics. ... A diagram illustrating the emission of electrons from a metal plate, requiring energy gained from an incoming photon to be more than the work function of the material. ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Willoughby Smith (April 6, 1828, Great Yarmouth, England — July 17, 1891, Eastbourne, England) was an electrical engineer who discovered the photoconductivity of the element selenium. ... Se redirects here. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... A solar cell, a form of photovoltaic cell, is a device that uses the photoelectric effect to generate electricity from light, thus generating solar power (energy). ... Se redirects here. ... 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Fritts (believed 1869–?)in Livingston, Columbia, NY was an American inventor credited with creating the first working solar cell in 1884. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (February 22, 1857 - January 1, 1894) was the German physicist and mechanician for whom the hertz, an SI unit, is named. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Edward Weston (May 9, 1850 – August 20, 1936) was an English chemist noted for his achievements in electroplating and his development of the battery, named the Weston cell, for voltage standard. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

1900-1929

• 1901 - Nikola Tesla receives the patent US685957, "Apparatus for the Utilization of Radiant Energy", and US685958, "Method of Utilizing of Radiant Energy".
• 1902 - Philipp von Lenard observes the variation in electron energy with light frequency.
• 1904 - Albert Einstein publishes a paper on the photoelectric effect. Wilhelm Hallwachs makes a semiconductor-junction solar cell (copper and copper oxide).
• 1913 - William Coblentz receives US1077219, "Solar cell".
• 1914 - Sven Ason Berglund patents "methods of increasing the capacity of photosensitive cells".
• 1916 - Robert Millikan conducts experiments and proves the photoelectric effect.
• 1918 - Jan Czochralski, a Polish scientist, produces a method to grow single-crystal silicon.

1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)[1] was a world-renowned Serbian inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard (born in Bratislava on June 7, 1862 – died May 20, 1947 in Messelhausen) was a physicist and the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1905 for his research on cathode rays and the discovery of many of their properties. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... Albert Einstein ( ) (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for his theory of relativity and specifically mass-energy equivalence, . He was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ... Copper forms two oxides, copper(I) oxide (cuprous oxide, Cu2O) a red powder and copper(II) oxide (cupric oxide, CuO) a black powder. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... William Weber Coblentz (1873 – September 15, 1962) was an American physicist. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American experimental physicist who won the 1923 Nobel Prize for his measurement of the charge on the electron and for his work on the photoelectric effect. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Jan Czochralski (pronounced cho-HRAL-skee) (October 23, 1885 - April 22, 1953) was a Polish chemist who discovered the Czochralski process, which is used to grow single crystals and is used in the production of semiconductor wafers. ...

1930-1959

• 1932 - Audobert and Stora discover the photovoltaic effect in Cadmium-Selenide (CdS), a photovoltaic material still used today.
• 1946 - Russell Ohl receives patent US2402662, "Light sensitive device".
• 1950s - Bell Labs produce solar cells for space activities.
• 1953 - Gerald Pearson begins research into lithium-silicon photovoltaic cells.
• 1954 - AT&T exhibits solar cells at Murray Hill, New Jersey. _[1]. Shortly afterwards, AT&T shows them at the National Academy of Science Meeting. These cells have about 6% efficiency. The New York Times forecasts that solar cells will eventually lead to a source of "limitless energy of the sun".
• 1955 - Western Electric licences commercial solar cell technologies. Hoffman Electronics-Semiconductor Division creates a 2% efficient commercial solar cell for $25/cell or $1,785/Watt.
• 1957 - AT&T assignors (Gerald L. Pearson, Daryl M. Chapin, and Calvin S. Fuller) receive patent US2780765, "Solar Energy Converting Apparatus". They refer to it as the "solar battery". Hoffman Electronics creates an 8% efficient solar cell.
• 1958 - T. Mandelkorn, U.S. Signal Corps Laboratories, creates n-on-p silicon solar cells, which are more resistant to radiation damage and are better suited for space. Hoffman Electronics creates 9% efficient solar cells. Vanguard I, the first solar powered satellite, was launched with a 0.1W, 100 cm² solar panel.
• 1959 - Hoffman Electronics creates a 10% efficient commercial solar cell, and introduces the use of a grid contact, reducing the cell's resistance.

Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Russell Ohl is generally recognized for patenting the modern solar cell (US2402662, Light sensitive device). Ohl was a notable semiconductor researcher prior to the invention of the transistor. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Bell Laboratories (also known as Bell Labs and formerly known as AT&T Bell Laboratories and Bell Telephone Laboratories) was the main research and development arm of the United States Bell System. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lithium, Li, 3 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 2, s Appearance silvery white/grey Atomic mass 6. ... It has been suggested that Silicons ranking be merged into this article or section. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... AT&T Inc. ... Murray Hill is a locality of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey located in Union County in north-central New Jersey. ... President Harding and the National Academy of Sciences at the White House, Washington, DC, April 1921 The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Company Masthead Logo Logo until circa 1969, also current logo on company web site Logo 1969-1983 Western Electric (sometimes abbreviated WE and WECo) was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Four double-A (AA) rechargeable cells A Duracell AA alkaline cell In science and technology, a galvanic cell is an electrochemical cell that stores chemical energy and makes it available in an electrical form, and a battery is a string of two or more cells in series. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Vanguard 1 is the oldest still orbiting artificial satellite, though there is no longer communication with it. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

1960-1979

• 1960 - Hoffman Electronics creates a 14% efficient solar cell.
• 1961 - "Solar Energy in the Developing World" conference is held by the United Nations.
• 1962 - The Telstar communications satellite is powered by solar cells.
• 1963 - Sharp Corporation produces a viable photovoltaic module of silicon solar cells.
• 1967 - Soyuz 1 is the first manned spacecraft to be powered by solar cells
• 1971 - Salyut 1 is powered by solar cells.
• 1973 - Skylab is powered by solar cells.
• 1974 - Florida Solar Energy Center begins _[2]].
• 1976 - David Carlson and Christopher Wronski of RCA Laboratories create first amorphous silicon PV cells, which have an efficiency of 1.1%.
• 1977 - The Solar Energy Research Institute is established at Golden, Colorado. World production of solar cells exceeds 500 kW.

1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... The original Telstar had a roughly spherical shape. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Sharp Corporation ) (TYO: 6753 ) is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, founded in 1912. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Soyuz 1 (Russian Союз 1, Union 1) was part of the Soviet Unions space program and was launched into orbit on April 23, 1967, carrying a single cosmonaut, Colonel Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov, who was killed when the spacecraft crashed after its return to Earth. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... Salyut 1 (DOS 1) was the first Salyut space station, and the first human-made space station of any kind. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Skylab was the first space station the United States launched into orbit. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located in Golden, Colorado, as part of the U.S. Department of Energy, is the United Statess primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. ... Downtown Golden, Colorado Golden, Colorado lies at the mouth of Clear Creek at the edge of the foothills of the Front Range. ...

1980-1999

• 1980 - The Institute of Energy Conversion at University of Delaware develops the first thin-film solar cell exceeding 10% efficiency using Cu2S/CdS technology.
• 1983 - Worldwide photovoltaic production exceeds 21.3 megawatts, and sales exceed $250 million.
• 1985 - 20% efficient silicon cell are created by the Centre for Photovoltaic Engineering at the University of New South Wales.
• 1989 - Reflective solar concentrators are first used with solar cells.
• 1990 - The Cathedral of Magdeburg installs solar cells on the roof, marking the first installation on a church in East Germany.
• 1991 - Efficient Photoelectrochemical cells are developed; the Dye-sensitized solar cell is invented.
• 1991 - President George H. W. Bush directs the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (transferring the existing Solar Energy Research Institute).
• 1993 - The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Solar Energy Research Facility is established.
• 1994 - NREL develops a GaInP/GaAs two-terminal concentrator cell (180 suns) which becomes the first solar cell to exceed 30% conversion efficiency.
• 1996 - The National Center for Photovoltaics is established. Graetzel, EPFL, Laussane, Switzerland achieves 11% efficient energy conversion with dye-sensitized cells that use a photoelectrochemical effect.
• 1999 - Total worldwide installed photovoltaic power reached 1000 megawatts.

Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The University of New South Wales or UNSW is a university situated in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... View of Magdeburg with the cathedral on the right. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A photoelectrochemical cell uses electromagnetic radiation including visible light to produce hydrogen, in a similar way to electrolysis of water. ... Dye-sensitized solar cells are photoelectrochemical cells that use photo-sensitization of wide-band-gap mesoporous oxide semiconductors. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. ... George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) was the 41st President of the United States, serving from 1989 to 1993. ... The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. ... The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located in Golden, Colorado, as part of the U.S. Department of Energy, is the United Statess primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ...

2000-Today

• 2005 - Solar cells in modules can convert around 17% of visible incidental radiant energy to electrical energy.
• 2006 - Estimated yearly solar cell production reached 1868 megawatts. Worldwide polysilicon production is projected to grow from 31,000 tons in 2005 to 36,000 tons in 2006.

2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Radiant energy is the energy of electromagnetic waves. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Future developments

Solar power satellites are proposed satellites to be built in high Earth orbit that would use microwave power transmission to beam solar power to a very large antenna on Earth where it would be used in place of conventional power sources. Tellurium has potential applications in cadmium-telluride solar cells. Some of the highest efficiencies for solar cell electric power generation have been obtained by using this material, but previous applications have not yet caused demand to increase significantly. An artists depiction of a solar satellite, which could send energy wirelessly to a space vessel or planetary surface. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Solar power describes a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the sun. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tellurium, Te, 52 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 16, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Standard atomic weight 127. ...

See also

• Timeline of materials technology
• Future energy development
• List of energy topics

Timeline of materials technology // 29,000–25,000 BCE - First ceramic appears 3rd millennium BC - Copper metallurgy is invented and copper is used for ornamentation 2nd millennium BC - Bronze is used for weapons and armour 1st millennium BC - Pewter beginning to be used in China and Egypt 16th century BC... Future energy development faces great challenges due to an increasing world population, demands for higher standards of living, a need for less pollution, a need to avert global warming, and a possible end to fossil fuels (see Hubbert peak theory). ... This is a list of energy topics which identifies articles and categories that relate to energy. ...

External links and references

• "Solar Resources". SunPower Corporation, 2004.
• "History: Photovoltaics Timeline". About, Inc., 2005.
• "Bell Labs Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Solar Cell - Timeline ". Lucent Technologies, 2004.
• Lenardic, Denis, "History of photovoltaics". PVResources.com, 2005.
• Perlin, John, "Making Electricity Directly from Sunlight". Rahus Institute, 2002.
• Massey, David, "Bell Labs - The Solar Battery (Photovoltaics)". 2005.
• Perreault, Bruce A., "Nikola Tesla's Radiant Energy system".
• Trinkaus, George, "The Lost Inventions of Nikola Tesla". Free Energy Receiver, Chapter 9.
• "Solar Energy Timeline ", Charles E. Brown Middle School.
• "Centre for Photovolatic Engineering Timeline". University of New South Wales
• http://www.pvpower.com/pvhistory.html
• http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=185300504
• "NoweEnergie.org" research of New Energy and Tesla's devices (PL).