RADIANT ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS BY J C SPENCER NICK

RADIANT ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS BY: J. C. , SPENCER, NICK, AND BRITTNEY

WHAT IS RADIANT ENERGY? • Energy transmitted in wave motion, especially electromagnetic wave motion through space

COMES FROM ==

WHAT IS IT USED FOR? • • Electricity Transportation Space satilites Cooking Pumping water Purifying water Heating water (pools) Heat air

HOW DO WE COLLECT RADIANT ENERGY? Through: • Solar panels § Basically, when light strikes the cell, a certain portion of it is absorbed within the semiconductor material “Silicon”. This means that the energy of the absorbed light is transferred to the semiconductor. § This flow of electrons is a current, and by placing metal contacts on the top and bottom of the PV cell, we can draw that current off for external use.

SUNLIGHT AND SHADE EXPERIMENT START TEMP 5 MIN 10 MIN 15 MIN 20 MIN IN SUN 68°F 78°F 81°F 82°F 84°F IN SHADE 70°F 74°F 76°F 77°F Temp in Fahrenheit

RADIOMETER It is a bulb with black and white colored vanes inside that spins in the light. The little air molecules bounce around inside the bulb and hit the colored panels of the vanes. They bounce off the black harder than the white panels, making the vanes spin in the direction of the black vanes.

GLOW TOYS • A chemical called Phosphor is added to the plastic of glow toys. • Phosphor absorbs radiant energy and stores the energy. The stored energy causes the electrons to become energized and jump at a higher level. • When the radiant energy goes away and can no longer be stored the electrons slow down and release the stored energy, giving off a glow.

REAL WORLD CONNECTIONS • Solar panels are a way of getting energy from a renewable resource. Unfortunately the energy absorbed from the light is small. Multiple panels must be used to get a desired voltage (and solar panels are expensive), but when enough panels are used it gives a good amount of electricity to resident or community using them.

CONCLUSION • Radiant energy is an excellent source of energy and in constant supply. • It works for little things well but is harder to get a big amount of energy from it because it doesn’t convert very well (its not very efficient).