Fritts, Charles Edgar
Published: August 22, 2008, 3:46 am
Updated: August 22, 2008, 3:46 am
This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor:
Tom Lawrence
Fritts' Solar Cell
Charles Edgar Fritts, an American inventor, built the first genuine solar cell in 1883. His cell used junctions formed by coating the semiconductor, made of selenium, with an ultra thin, nearly transparent layer of gold. Fritts' devices were very inefficient, transforming less than 1 percent of the absorbed light into electrical energy, but they proved the viability of using light as an energy source. Fritts' work helped lay the foundation for subsequent improvements by Ohl and Pearson, and by his colleagues at Bell Labs in the 1950s. Werner von Siemens called Fritts' work as “scientifically of the most far-reaching importance", and his work was thought to influence J.C. Maxwell’s research in quantum mechanics.
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Citation
Cutler J. Cleveland (Lead Author);Tom Lawrence (Topic Editor) "Fritts, Charles Edgar". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth August 22, 2008; Last revised Date August 22, 2008; Retrieved June 20, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Fritts,_Charles_Edgar>
The Author
Cutler J. Cleveland is Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University, where he also is on the faculty of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. Professor Cleveland is Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Energy (Elsevier, 2004), winner of an American Library Association award, the Dictionary of Energy (Elsevier, 2005), Handbook of Energy (Elsevier, forthcoming), and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth. He is the recipient of the Adelma ... (Full Bio)
Fritts' Solar Cell
Charles Edgar Fritts, an American inventor, built the first genuine solar cell in 1883. His cell used junctions formed by coating the semiconductor, made of selenium, with an ultra thin, nearly transparent layer of gold. Fritts' devices were very inefficient, transforming less than 1 percent of the absorbed light into electrical energy, but they proved the viability of using light as an energy source. Fritts' work helped lay the foundation for subsequent improvements by Ohl and Pearson, and by his colleagues at Bell Labs in the 1950s. Werner von Siemens called Fritts' work as “scientifically of the most far-reaching importance", and his work was thought to influence J.C. Maxwell’s research in quantum mechanics.
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