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Home Q & A Board Science-Related Homework Help Physics
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julievbilt julievbilt
wrote...
11 years ago
Suppose one square meter panel of solar cells has an efficiency of 30% and receives the equivalent of 4 hours of direct sunlight per day.  How much energy in joules can it produce each day?  What average power of watts does the panel produce?  If the solar cells were efficient they would generate about 1000 watts of power per square meter of surface area when exposed to direct sunlight.
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wrote...
#1
11 years ago
4 hours = 14400 seconds

1000 watts of power per square meter

1000 watts = 1000 joules per second
1000 joules per second x 14400 seconds = 14400000 joules
30 % of that = 4320 000 joules.

since this is joules per day per m², the answer is 4320 000 joules/meter/day
or 4.32 MJ/m/day

.
juliemandell Author
wrote...
#2
11 years ago
Actually, you only get power fluxes above 1kW in orbit. On the surface we probably only get about 6 to 800 W.

With your numbers:

1000*.3=power input per square meter = 300W = 300 Joules per second

4 hours of sunlight is 4*3600 seconds.

Energy absorbed per day = (300 Joules per second)*(4*3600 seconds)

Voala.
wrote...
#3
11 years ago
efficiency   ? = 30% = 0.3
t = 4 h = 14400 sec
The intensity  I = 1000 watt/m^2
P' = ? * P
1000 = 0.3 * P ---> P = 1000/0.3 = 10000/3 watt/m^2

The energy can the solar panel produce each day :
W = ? * P * t
    = 0.3 * 10000/3 * 4 * 3600
    = 1.44 x 10^7  joule
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