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On our tropical
island close to the equator, both seawater and sunlight were in
abundance. But how could we capture the maximum amount of energy
from the sun while accommodating for the sun’s movement across the
sky?
All power is solar power
Apart from the tiny lights from twinkling stars, all the energy
we have on earth ultimately has come from the sun. Even the wood
and coal we burn to give us heat was made originally made by organic
processes that depended on light and heat from the sun.
The atmosphere
of the earth absorbs some of the energy and the more air the sun’s
rays have to travel through to get to the earth’s surface, the weaker
they become. When the sun is high in summer and travels through
less air it appears stronger and heats more, while in winter the
sun is low and much of the energy is absorbed.
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