12V 500mA Solar Panel - Solar Cell 210X165mm
A high-quality solar panel for your projects. It operates at maximum performance under sunlight. It produces low current under artificial light. For example, it can light a 5mm LED with a phone flash.
Operating Voltage: 12V
Operating Current: 500mA
Dimensions: 210 x 165 x 3.2mm
Solar Cell
A solar cell is an electronic device that captures sunlight and converts it directly into electricity. Just like the cells in a battery, the cells in a solar panel are designed to produce electricity; but where a battery's cells generate electricity from chemicals, a solar panel's cells generate power by capturing sunlight.
A solar cell is a sandwich of n-type silicon (blue) and p-type silicon (red). It generates electricity by using sunlight to cause electrons to jump between different silicon wafers:
- When sunlight shines on the cell, photons (light particles) bombard the top surface.
- The photons (yellow) transfer their energy through the cell.
- The photons deposit their energy on electrons (green) in the bottom, p-type layer.
- The electrons use this energy to jump across the barrier to the top, n-type layer and escape into the circuit. This one-way flow of electrons creates direct current and lights the lamp.
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