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Solar power is power generated in some way by the energy given off from the sun, which takes the form of heat and light.

The sun's energy is the chief supply of power to the entire world's ecosystem, and there could be no life on Earth without it. The only other source of energy on earth that does not originate with the sun is geothermal power.

Tapping the power of the sun

There are many different ways to capture the energy given off by the sun, and people have been thinking up creative ways of doing just that for thousands of years.

Originally, the sun was used for more rudimentary purposes like heating buildings by orienting buildings to face south, or for growing crops by capturing and transforming sunlight into heat with greenhouses.

In more modern times, many of these ancient techniques have been greatly improved upon, while technology has opened up whole new avenues of exploiting solar power.

Photovoltaic cells are what make up a solar panel, and surprisingly, date back to the year 1880. Since then, solar panels have come a long way, but still operate on the basic principle of converting sunlight in to direct current.

Another modern innovation is concentrating solar power. Although the technique is certainly not new, what is unique is the ability to generate extreme temperatures from concentrated solar energy and the subsequent storage of that energy.

The future of solar power

Because of the massive untapped potential that exists in solar power, there are many technologies and techniques being developed to generate usable electricity from solar energy.

One such proposed technology is the use of solar panels in space. The advantages of such a system would be that the panels would have direct, unfiltered access to the sun's energy for almost 100% of the day. The power would then be beamed to Earth via microwave technology.

It may still only be a theoretical dream, but space solar panels really demonstrate that scientists are thinking big on what comes next in the development of a huge, but yet largely untapped, energy source for the future.

More information on solar energy power around the Web:

Solar energy - An extensive overview from Wikipedia with a history of solar power development and modern applications, its impact on world economics plus a wealth of photos, related references and resources.

Solar Today - The online edition of the print publication with news, feature stories, blog, Q&A, related information on sustainable transportation, subscription details and contact info.

Farming Solar Energy in Space - Scientific American article explaining fascinating plans that may one day result in harnessing sunlight into electricity from solar panels in space, via a power transmission system designed to send energy in microwave form to Earth.

Solar Energy International - For Young Kids - Good overview geared to elementary school kids with explanations on traditional electricity sources, a history of solar energy and the different ways it can be used, with additional pages for older kids and high school students, related resources.

also see -> Hydroelectric Power | Wind Energy