Round-the-Clock Solar Power

 This advancement in renewable energy was discovered by a Swiss scientist, Michael Graetzel. He has created a new way to capture solar energy. Rather than using the conventional method of converting solar energy into electricity, he has devised a way to convert this solar energy into hydrogen. This process consists of a solar cell connected to two catalysts submerged in water. These catalysts are two different types of metal, mostly  iron and copper. The act of creating the hydrogen is referred to as water splitting. At this moment the efficiency of the water splitting is only harnessing 12.3 percent of the solar energy versus the 16 percent that conventional solar cells capture. Although these percentages would seem in favor of the conventional method, it has to be taken into consideration how hard inefficient other processes of making hydrogen are. This apparatus is inexpensive and simple making it a prime contender in the field of solar technology.

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This technology seems to be an incredible advancement in the solar industry. I could see a major shift in not only the way in which we harness solar power, but possibly the way we power out lives. It is possible that rather than converting fossil fuels into electricity hydrogen plants could be used to convert clean hydrogen energy into electricity. These water splitters could also be used to power cars or anything else that consumes fossil fuels. The extraction of hydrogen has been a troubling conundrum for some time. If this invention can provide the key to cheap, sustainable, and efficient production of hydrogen, it could have a major change in the way we live.