Abstract
Current world energy consumption is around 3.5 × 1020 J per year. The solar radiation reaching the earth’s upper atmosphere has an intensity of around 13001400 W/m2. Not all of this reaches the earth’s surface but even so the energy from the sun received at the earth amounts to some tens of thousands of the world’s energy requirements for a given period. Clearly there is the potential for solar energy to supply some, if not all, of our energy demand. However, the low power density and intermittent nature of solar radiation makes collection, conversion, and storage a challenge.
‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference’
Robert Frost from ‘The road not taken’
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© 1985 Diana Schumacher
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Stammers, J. (1985). Solar Energy. In: Energy: Crisis or Opportunity?. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17797-4_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17797-4_6
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