Solar-powered cars share some of the same features that regular cars have: you know, brakes, accelerator, turn signals, ventilation, and mirrors. But the major similarities stop there, and unlike hybrids, solar-powered cars use no fuel at all: they find energy from the sun, and store it in a battery pack.
How it works
Sunlight is converted directly into electricity (unlike solar thermal energy, which concerts sunlight to heat commonly used for household or industrial purposes) using photovoltaic (PV) cells. Hundreds of these cells are placed together to form modules, which are lined up to form the solar array, which sits on top of the car. The arrays vary in size, but the larger ones in use today can produce more than 2 kilowatts, which means about 2.6 horsepower for the car.
When sunlight strikes, the photons excite the electrons inside the PV cells, creating—voila!—an electric current. Like the gas tank is the power storage for a normal car, solar cars store the electricity converted from the sun in a battery pack, which can come in any of a variety of types: lead-acid battery, nickel-metal hybride, nickel-cadmium, lithium ion, and lithium polymer batteries.
Solar cars on the road today
Some research teams have been working on this concept for years and years—Stanford has been at it since 1986—and have made great strides. They most famously culminate in the World Solar Challenge, a race to cross the Australian continent that has evolved into the even larger-concept Global Green Challenge. Similarly, the American Solar Challenge brings solar drivers together for a long distance race. In 2008, it ran from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta and next year, will span the 1100 miles from Tulsa, OK to Chicago, IL.
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