How to Teach a Child About Solar Energy
The technology involved in converting solar energy into electricity is improving, making solar energy a more affordable and practical option. Teaching children about solar energy requires that they first understand some physics, including the structure of the atom and what electricity is.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Explain that the simplest photovoltaic cell is made of a layer of silicon under a glass plate. A silicon atom has room for 8 electrons in its outmost shell but has only 4 at present. It therefore shares its electrons with another silicon atom so they both can have 8 electrons.
-
2
Ask your child to imagine what would happen if silicon shared its atoms with an element that has 5 electrons in its outermost shell, such as phosphorous. The extra electron would be easy to separate from the atom because it has nothing holding onto it.
-
-
3
Try to help your child understand that although light is a wave and has a frequency in a similar way that a radio signal does, it is also made up of particles called photons. Photons are used to knock the extra electrons off the phosphorous atoms in the photovoltaic cell.
-
4
Draw a sketch of free electrons inside the silicon-phosphorous layer of the photovoltaic cell "looking" for an atom to latch onto but not finding one. These free electrons are collected, making electricity.
-
5
Buy a model kit that uses a photovoltaic cell to power a small device such as a toy car. You can find model kits in toy stores, hobby shops or online. You can also download instructions for building a model using your own materials.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Older children may be able to understand a more complex explanation of how a photovoltaic cell works, which involves doping silicon with impurities to create N- and P-type layers (a semiconductor).
