What is a Solar Cell?
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A solar cell is a device that is used to convert sunlight into electricity. Such cells take advantage of a physical phenomenon called the ‘photovoltaic effect’ which basically postulates that certain materials produce small amounts of electricity when exposed to sunlight. The amount of electricity produced by a single solar cell is usually too minute to be useful. So typically, multiple photovoltaic cells are connected together into a single larger ‘solar panel’ or ‘solar module’ in order to generate usable energy. Most commercially available solar panels are capable of generating about 12 volts of electric current on a full charge. Solar-powered devices often use multiple solar panels in order to generate the electricity they need for their specific purpose. The number of solar panels needed for an application can vary depending on the number of individual solar cells in a solar panel, or by the sort of application that it is needed for. For example, a solar-powered water-heating system will use far more solar panels than a solar-powered lighting system....