Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
 |
 Ancient Egypt Rome Greece Siam c1900 20 Liebig antique card set of 6 German  US $19.96
|
 1959 Parke Davis Ad Great Moments in Medicine Ancient Egypt US $6.00
|
 1984 PANASONIC TV Ancient Egypt Pharaoh Ceremony Wedding Sacrifice Print Ad US $5.99
|
MODERN LESSONS FROM ANCIENT TIMES
Solar power has been around since the Seventh Century BC.
The Ancient Egyptians used the sun's heat to make bricks, which were formed by mixing mud and straw together and baking them in the sun.Passive solar design - using architecture to get the most out of the sun's capacity to heat and light up spaces indoors - was first used by the ancient Romans and Greeks.
In order to get the maximum benefit from the winter sun, they made sure their buildings were orientated towards the sun.At the same time, they were able to cut down on firewood which was scarce, displaying a very early switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The Romans advanced the concept of solar design by using glass for windows, and even promulgated a law which made it illegal to obscure a neighbour’s access to sunlight.
An active application of solar energy was used as far back as 200BC when the Greek army used the sun's rays onto bronze shields to set fire to the Roman's wooden ships.Some native cultures used the natural storage of heat by rocks to good effect by building their homes into the sides of rocky cliffs.
The world's first solar collector is said to have been built in 1767 by the Swiss Horace de Saussure, but it was only in 1839 when Frenchman Edmond Becquerel first showed photovoltaic activity that the foundation for modern solar power research was set.Becquerel discovered that by exposing certain materials to light, it was possible to increase the electric current.
The first active solar motor was developed by French mathematician Auguste Mouchout, who also invented a steam engine powered by the sun. Both inventions failed due to high production costs.
Over time and all over the world, scientists were working out new ways of harnessing the sun's energy.In 1876, William Grylls Adams discovered that shining light on selenium produced electricity.
In 1921, Albert Einstein who is better known for his Theory of Relativity, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his theories on the photoelectric effect.
In the 1950s, Bell Laboratories (now known as AT & T Laboratories) developed the first silicon solar cell which could generate a measurable electric current.This was the first time that a cell had been developed that could convert the sun's energy to power everyday appliances.
The first practical application of photovoltaic silicon solar cells also came in the 1950s with the launch of the satellite, Vanguard 1. In 1981, the first solar powered aircraft flew from France to England powered by 16 000 solar cells giving off 3 000 watts of power.
The Arab Oil Embargo in 1973/4 forced western economies to rethink solar energy research as a means of reducing their dependence on oil. The development of a cost-effective solar cell by Dr Elliot Berman in the 1970s was a major breakthrough, opening up a range of applications such as navigation warning lights as well as uses in remote locations.
Concern for the environment has galvanised research into finding viable alternatives to fossil fuels, such as wind power, geothermal and solar power.And whilst solar technology today is powering far more than a hand-held radio, the basic idea of solar power has remained the same since ancient times - it is a viable renewable energy source.
Ancient Egypt - National Geographic