physics

The Solar Generation

The Solar Generation is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Solar Generation rather than just read about it. In short: The Solar Generation: Childhood and Adolescence of Terrestrial Photovoltaics is a 2018 book by Philip R Wolfe published by John Wiley & Sons and the IEEE. It describes the early years of the solar power sector, covering in particular the years between 1973 and 1999.

Key takeaways

The Solar Generation belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Solar Generation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Solar Generation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Solar Generation: Childhood and Adolescence of Terrestrial Photovoltaics is a 2018 book by Philip R Wolfe published by John Wiley & Sons and the IEEE. It describes the early years of the solar power sector, covering in particular the years between 1973 and 1999. The author's foreword says this was a period when solar power was "discounted as an irrelevance", but he "confidently predicts that it will be the world's largest energy source" within his lifetime. The book covers specifically solar photovoltaic power generation for terrestrial uses. It does not deal with space applications of solar cells, nor solar thermal energy including CSP.

Book Volumes and Chapters The book is presented in three parts:

Part I: A biography of terrestrial photovoltaics This part tells the story of the period from various perspectives; research and technology, industrial development, applications of solar generation, economics and the geo-political context. It has chapters entitled:

Origins of terrestrial solar power; What is photovoltaics?; Terrestrial solar applications; Photovoltaic research; PV business and markets; Economics of solar generation; Solar industry participants; Geo-politics of the early solar sector; and The next generation

Part II: Encyclopaedia; People, organisations, events Central to this section is a 'Who's Who' of the leading participants in the early solar sector:

Profiles of sixty-six leading pioneers of the time. In total over 200 people are mentioned. Profiles of forty-two companies active in the early PV sector; together with thirteen leading research institutions; and ten national and international agencies. Nearly 100 others are also mentioned. Part II also includes compendia enumerating specific records and achievements in research and technology; national and international policies towards the sector; prizes, awards, conferences and expositions.

Part III: Dictionary; References, glossary and indexes This very comprehensive reference section includes Acknowledgements; Citations; Bibliography; Glossary and Indexes

See also Solar photovoltaics Solar Power Renewable energy commercialization List of books about renewable energy

References

External links The Solar Generation at Wiley

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Solar Generation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Solar Generation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Solar Generation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Solar Generation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Solar Generation

In research: The Solar Generation appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Solar Generation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Solar Generation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Books about energy issues, Renewable energy commercialization, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Solar Generation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Solar Generation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Solar Generation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Solar Generation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Solar Generation in simple terms?

Why does The Solar Generation matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Solar Generation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Solar Generation.