Plant Cell (Photosynthesis) versus Solar Cell Regina D. Parker October 31, 2010

Three ways a plant cell and solar cell are similar and different to each other is that plant cells and solar cells both convert sunlight into energy. In the case of plants it is chemical energy for solar cell; it is electricity. Plants use organic processes but solar cells use inorganic semiconductors.[i] Plant cells are different from the cells of most other organisms. Plant cells are usually larger than animal cells and surrounded by a rigid cell wall made from cellulose. They have a large central vacuole that takes up most of the cell and if they carry out photosynthesis, the plant cells will have chloroplasts. Plants have three types of tissues that are made up of different types of cells. Surface which is tissue forms the protective outer layer covering the plant, fundamental are only composed of one type of cell and are grouped based on the level of thickness of the cell wall, and vascular tissues are complex tissues that consist of more than one type of cell. Solar cells usually operate better under concentrated light. This has led to the development of a range of approaches using mirrors or lenses to focus light on to specially designed cells and use heat sinks, or active cooling of the cells, to dissipate the large amount of heat that is generated. Unlike conventional flat plate PV arrays, concentrator systems require direct sunlight and will not operate under cloudy conditions.[ii] They follow the sun's path through the sky during the day using single-axis tracking. To adjust to the sun's varying height in the sky through the seasons, two-axis tracking is used. Concentrators have not yet achieved widespread application in photovoltaics, but solar concentration has been widely used in solar thermal electricity generation technology where the generated heat is used to power a turbine. Solar cell is a cell that converts solar energy into electrical energy. It converts light into electricity. It is used in solar panels; they capture the energy from sunlight and convert the energy into electricity. Solar panels are used in homes and business to provide a green alternative to other power sources. Solar cell is not like leaves of plants. The similarity is that they both get their energy from sun; however the solar cell gets this energy in a completely different way when compared to a leaf.[iii] They get their energy from light. Both contain water which when hit by light the ultraviolet portion of the light is not transparent and cannot pass. This creates heat. When the water heats to a certain temperature it can be used for other things. Specifically in a solar cell the water is heated to high temperatures and is used to turn small turbines. When the water cools it runs back to the heating portion of the cell and is heated again. This makes it an easy way to produce energy. A solar cell or a photovoltaic cell converts the light energy from the sun directly into electricity and is non-organic but a plant cell is an organic piece of matter which contains chloroplasts in its cytoplasm which absorb light energy from the sun and convert it into glucose (chemical energy) during the process of photosynthesis.[iv] It is widely held that in the physical sciences the laws of thermodynamics have had a unifying effect similar to that of the theory of evolution in the biological sciences. What is intriguing is that the predictions of one seem to contradict the predictions of the other. The second law of thermodynamics suggests a progression from order to disorder, from complexity to simplicity, in the physical universe. Yet biological evolution involves a hierarchical progression to increasingly complex forms of living systems, seemingly in contradiction to the second law of thermodynamics.[v] The first law of thermodynamics is an exact science which deals with energy. Our world seethes with transformations of matter and energy. Be these mechanical or chemical, the first law of thermodynamics which is the principle of the Conservation of Energy that tells us that the total energy of the universe or any isolated part of it will be the same after any such transformation as it was before.[vi] The second law of thermodynamics describes the flow of energy in nature in processes which are irreversible. The physical significance of the second law of thermodynamics is that the energy flow in such processes is always toward a more uniform distribution of the energy of the universe. [vii]

References

-----------------------
[i] www.answer.com

[ii] www.answer.com

[iii] www.solarbuzz.com

[iv] www.answer.com

[v] www.idolphin.org

[vi] www.idolphin.org

[vii] www.idolphin.org