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| Solar power satellite
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A solar power station investigated by NASA that entailed a satellite in geosynchronous orbit that would consist of a very large array of solar photovoltaic modules that would convert solar generated electricity to microwaves and beam them to a fixed point on the earth. |
| Solar radiation
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A general term for the visible and near visible (ultraviolet and near-infrared) electromagnetic radiation that is emitted by the sun. It has a spectral, or wavelength, distribution that corresponds to different energy levels; short wavelength radiation has a higher energy than long-wavelength radiation. |
| Solar simulator
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An apparatus that replicates the solar spectrum, and used for testing solar energy conversion devices. |
| Solar space heater
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A solar energy system designed to provide heat to individual rooms in a building. |
| Solar spectrum
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The total distribution of electromagnetic radiation emanating from the sun. The different regions of the solar spectrum are described by their wavelength range. The visible region extends from about 390 to 780 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth of one meter). About 99 percent of solar radiation is contained in a wavelength region from 300 nm (ultraviolet) to 3,000 nm (near-infrared). The combined radiation in the wavelength region from 280 nm to 4,000 nm is called the broadband, or total, solar radiation. |
| Solar storage
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The hot water gained by solar energy is usually stored in an insulated tank. Block wall systems or block floor systems which absorb solar heat and pass the hot air to a thermal storage area in the walls or roof are other types of storage. Fans and ducting pass the hot air through the cores in the walls and floor when temperatures drop. |
| Solar thermal electric systems
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Solar energy conversion technologies that convert solar energy to electricity, by heating a working fluid to power a turbine that drives a generator. Examples of these systems include central receiver systems, parabolic dish, and solar trough. |
| Solar thermal parabolic dishes
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A solar thermal technology that uses a modular mirror system that approximates a parabola and incorporates two-axis tracking to focus the sunlight onto receivers located at the focal point of each dish. The mirror system typically is made from a number of mirror facets, either glass or polymer mirror, or can consist of a single stretched membrane using a polymer mirror. The concentrated sunlight may be used directly by a Stirling, Rankine, or Brayton cycle heat engine at the focal point of the receiver or to heat a working fluid that is piped to a central engine. The primary applications include remote electrification, water pumping, and grid-connected generation. |
| Solar thermal systems
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Solar energy systems that collect or absorb solar energy for useful purposes. Can be used to generate high temperature heat (for electricity production and/or process heat), medium temperature heat (for process and space/water heating and electricity generation), and low temperature heat (for water and space heating and cooling). |
| Solar time
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The period marked by successive crossing of the earth's meridian by the sun; the hour angle of the sun at a point of observance (apparent time) is corrected to true (solar) time by taking into account the variation in the earth's orbit and rate of rotation. Solar time and local standard time are usually different for any specific location. |
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