Direct Use of the Sun's Energy

The Earth's resources are being consumed at a rapid rate. If we do not solve this problem, we will all be extinct soon. This book discusses in layman's terms the various areas of research into converting the Sun's energy into ways the energy can be stored and put to practical use. The only inexhaustible supply of energy that we have is energy from the Sun. Green chlorophyll has the ability to convert energy from the Sun into organic compounds that we and other animals eat. This is nature's solution to the problem of capture and storage of energy. Scientists are working to develop photosynthetic processes suitable for commercial development - a complex but not insoluble problem. While the development of atomic power holds great promise for the future as a replacement for fossil fuels that are rapidly being depleted, the underdeveloped countries have a particularly vital and immediate interest in devising low-cost sources of energy. Farrington Daniels spent many years studying the possibilities of converting the sun's rays into mechanical and electrical power, and in this volume he covers all aspects of the subject of solar energy. Without stressing mathematical and engineering details (though including complete references to the sources of this kind of information), he describes the full range of the experimental work involving collectors of solar radiation, cooking and heating water, agricultural and industrial drying, storage of heat, solar furnaces and engines, cooling and refrigeration, photochemical conversion, and many other uses. No one is better qualified than Mr. Daniels to give an overview of the present knowledge of the field and to point to future research possibilities.