Solar energy is energy that comes from the sun. Every day the sun radiates an enormous amount of energy. The sun radiates more energy in one second than people have used since the beginning of time. All this energy comes from within the sun itself. Like other stars, the sun is a big gas ball made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. The sun generates energy in its core in a process called nuclear fusion.
During nuclear fusion, the sun’s extremely high pressure and hot temperature cause hydrogen atoms to come apart and their nuclei to fuse or combine. Some matter is lost during nuclear fusion. The lost matter is emitted into space as radiant energy.
It takes millions of years for the energy in the sun’s core to make its way to the solar surface, and then approximately eight minutes to travel the 93 million miles to earth. The solar energy travels to the earth at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, the speed of light.
Only a small portion of the energy radiated by the sun into space strikes the earth, one part in two billion. Yet this amount of energy is enormous. Every day enough energy strikes the United States to supply the nation’s energy needs for one and a half years! About 15 percent of the sun’s energy that hits the earth is reflected back into space. Another 30 percent is used to evaporate water, which, lifted into the atmosphere, produces rainfall. Plants, the land, and the oceans also absorb solar energy. The rest could be used to supply our needs.
