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History of Solar Energy
from:Learning about the history of solar energy can be amazing. In fact, most people do not realize just how far back the history of solar energy goes, which could be why so many people haven't taken advantage of this powerful source of energy. Take a look at some of the more important milestones in the history of solar energy and find out where its future is pointing, too. For many people, there is a bright future with the use of solar power.
Perhaps the first time that researchers see the history of solar energy is way back in ancient Greeks times, in the 4th century BC. At that time, wood, which was the source of most fuel become very scarce and so other sources were sought. Socrates is credited with being the first to understand passive solar use. He provided several key important elements including the fact that the main rooms of your home should face south and that the north side of buildings will need some sort of shield from cold winds.
Later, in 212 BC, another famous history figure, Archimedes, was able to harness solar energy to win an attack over the Roman navy who was at that point attacking Syracuse. To do so, he had the soldiers of the arm reflect sunlight off of their shields and at the Roman sails, which burnt them and left the entire army helpless.
If you look a bit more recent in the history of solar energy you will see it used by the Romans around the 1st century AD. Then, they recognized the greenhouse effect and used glass to trap in the heat of the sun. They also used dark colors and their pottery to help store some of the thermal energy from the sun. In 37 AD, the first greenhouse was created all for the effort of growing cucumbers for Tiberius Caesar.
In addition to this history of solar energy, you will also find that ancient civilizations also used solar energy to accomplish the goals of heating and water evaporation, and other forms as well. These civilizations include the early Chinese, Pueblo and Anasazi cultures.
In the 1500's, there is the next example of the history of solar energy when Leonardo da Vinci was about to conceive the idea of the parabolic mirror concentrator. In the 1700's, Antoine La Voisier built the very first solar furnace, which had the ability to melt platinum.
The history of solar energy is interesting because many people don't realize just how far back it goes. In the 1900's, solar energy exploded as an option for providing many benefits.
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