Albert Einstein is most commonly known about his theory of relativity, particularly the mass energy equivalence, E = mc^2. What most people don't know is that Einstein conducted the most comprehensive theoretical work on the photovoltaic effect, which means turning light into electricity.
In fact in 1921 Einstein won the Noble Prize for his explanation of photovoltaics. Einstein explanation stated that light was a stream of particles, called photons. His studies suggested that when you shine a light upon certain metals, a stream of particles, electrons are emitted from the metal. Einstein concluded in his studies of the photovoltaics:
- the number of electrons emitted depends on the intensity of the light beam.
- electrons move faster if the applied light has higher frequency.
- light has to hit the threshold frequency before electrons can be generated.
It seems like the world has known about photovoltaics for such a long time but has not moved forward aggressively enough to take full advantage of the largest energy source known to man, the sun. Do you think photovoltaics is one of society's best kept secretes?
