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The Sun: Our Biggest Power Source

Good day, my radiant friends! I’m Soldius Sam, your sun-centered guide to brilliant solar energy facts and fun! Wherever you see me, I’ll shine some light on the hottest new products and sunny subjects of every wavelength.

Not only is the sun the nearest star to the earth, it’s the most powerful energy source in our solar system.

The sun can supply us with more usable heat and light energy than we’ll ever need in our lifetime, or even a hundred thousand lifetimes.
In fact, many scientists estimate that the sun will burning bright for the next 5 billion years or so.

It’s hard to believe that just a tiny portion of the sun’s surface can produce enough energy for everyone on Earth to use. However, not all of the energy directed toward our planet can be used. Do you know why not?

	For starters, the earth’s atmosphere reduces the amount of solar energy that the earth gets.

	Then, once inside the atmosphere, weather conditions also affect the amount of energy that gets through.

	So, on average, the amount of solar radiation the earth gets is about 1,367 watts per square meter. That’s called the earth’s solar constant.

Did you know that the farther a planet is from the sun, the smaller the solar constant is for that planet? In fact, Mars – which is farther away from the sun than the Earth, has a solar constant of less than 600 watts per square meter.

Much of the sunlight that enters the atmosphere gets absorbed, diffused or reflected by air molecules, water vapor, pollution, ozone, or other gases. That’s called diffuse solar radiation.

But the sunlight that gets past all of those obstacles is called direct beam solar radiation. If you add diffuse solar radiation to direct beam solar radiation, the total is called global solar radiation.

Humans have used the sun’s heat and light for thousands of years. Today, however, science and technology are bringing us new ways to harness the power of the sun for all kinds of functions. For example, a Soldius solar charger is a device which taps into global solar radiation and puts it to use charging portable electronics like cell phones, handheld music players, personal GPS units and more. To find out how the photovoltaic cells inside a solar charger work, click here.