Last week in class we conducted an experiment using a solar cell.  Solar energy works by taking direct sunlight and converting it into energy.  Solar cells, which are what was used in this experiment, generate an electric current when struck by sunlight.  The solar cells, also called photovoltaic cells, generate an electric current by collecting particles of sunlight called photons and converting them into electrons of direct current.  These electrons then move into an inverter that converts the direct current into alternating current. (http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/solar_basics/how.php)

To start the experiment, we put the solar cell face down so that no light was striking it and recorded the voltage output in Excel.  We then measured the voltage output when our light source was at different lengths to see the relationship between light intensity and voltage output and wavelength of light and voltage output.

 After we recorded our results, we set our light source at 10 cm and placed different colored filters in front of the solar cell.  This was to see if colored filters affected the voltage output.  According to the data collected, the different colored filters didn’t have a major effect on the voltage output of the solar panel.  The colors that seems to affect it the most are gold and blue.

Here are the graphs showing the relationship between distance and voltage and voltage as a function of filter color.

The data results I am showing in this post are not our results.  After we completed the experiment all of our data was lost, so I am showing you someone else’s data from the same experiment.