First Solar Panel Created

Charles fritts installed the first solar panels on new york city rooftop in 1884.

First solar panel created.

Courtesy of john perlin take a light step back to 1883 when new york inventor charles fritts created the first. In a way many physicists played a part in solar cell invention. Solar panels in outer space some of the earliest uses of solar technology were actually in outer space where solar was used to power satellites. It all started in 1839 with 19 year old physicist named edmond becquerel.

In 1958 the vanguard i satellite used a tiny one watt panel to power its radios. Just 7 years later charles fritts an american inventor created the first solar cell by layering selenium onto a gold backing. Almost 50 years after the photovoltaic effect s discovery in 1883 american inventor charles fritz created the first working selenium solar cell. Therefore the credit for the invention of the modern solar panel cannot go to a single individual entity.

The big break though came in 1876 when william grylls adams along with his student richard evans day discovered that selenium an element discovered in 1817 would create an electrical current when exposed to light. Other major events in the history of solar energy. Russell ohl was the first inventor who created the silicon solar cell in 1941. 3 though we use silicon in cells for modern solar panels this solar cell was a major precursor to the technology used today.