BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: Solar on the Line

DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: Solar on the Line:

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Description of Pictures: Solar on the Line
November 29, 2016 – TBD
Solar on the Line explores the innovation and technology behind solar power as a renewable energy resource. It introduces visitors to the history of solar energy use in the U.S. as well as how it is both a part of the electrical grid as well as an off-grid supplement. The museum presents multiple views on the potential benefits and challenges of this technology. Two solar panels are on display, one from the Carter White House, which the President installed to heat hot water in 1979, and the other a recent acquisition from the California Million Solar Roof Initiative. Also on view is supporting technology including a 2016 bi-directional electric meter, solar electric inverter and solar controller panel which helps visitors understand how solar panels work.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SIAHSO_161202_012.JPG: President Jimmy Carter inspects White House solar thermal panels, 1979. He remarked, "A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece . . . or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people: harnessing the power of the sun . . ."
2. SIAHSO_161202_017.JPG: Solar water heater panel used on the White House, 1979 President Jimmy Carter had solar panels, including this one, installed on the White House roof in 1979. Rather than generating electricity, water circulated through tubes in the panels and absorbed solar heat. The panel provided hot water for use by the president's staff and family. President Ronald Reagan ordered the panels removed in 1986. As energy costs fell public enthusiasm for solar power waned, only to rebound in the 21st century. Newer solar panels, installed during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, supply hot water and electricity to the White House today.
3. SIAHSO_161202_019.JPG: Wash day towel, around 1942 Sometimes using solar energy can be as simple as a clothesline. This embroidered towel is one of a set of seven, each depicting a domestic chore done on a given day. Traditionally, Monday was wash day.
4. SIAHSO_161202_026.JPG: Solar tea maker, around 1983 During the 1970s, war and political turmoil in the Middle East resulted in embargos on oil imported to the United States. The restrictions caused sharp increases in the cost of energy. Entrepreneurs responded with many products that promoted energy conservation. To make solar tea one simply filled this jar with water, put in tea bags, and closed the top. Leaving the jar sit in the sun for a few hours allowed solar heat to brew the tea.
5. SIAHSO_161202_032.JPG: Solar heater patent model, 1880 James P. Mauzey of Blackfoot, Montana Territory, patented a solar heater in 1880. His patent called for a movable frame to track the sun and adjustable glass or metal reflectors "for concentrating and focusing the rays . . . for any desired purpose." Pulling a curtain over the reflectors turned the unit off.
6. SIAHSO_161202_036.JPG: Solar Thermal Putting the Sun's Heat to Work The sun's heat is an important source of energy. In nature the sun warms the earth and the atmosphere and causes the wind to blow. People have tapped the sun's energy to warm their homes, dry clothes, cook food, and boil water. Even the White House began using solar panels to heat water during the 1970s. When solar thermal energy is concentrated, it can be used to generate steam that spins turbines to generate electricity.
7. SIAHSO_161202_039.JPG: From Etienne L. Trouvelot, Astronomical Drawings. Plate II, Solar Protuberances. Observed on May 5, 1873 at 9h, 40m. A.M. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1882.
8. SIAHSO_161202_045.JPG: Solar oven, 1938 While secretary of the Smithsonian, astronomer Charles G. Abbot continued researching ways to use solar heat. He made this solar oven and reported: "It requires about an hour to heat the oven to about 130�C [266�F] above surrounding temperatures, and the oven bakes cakes 3 inches [7.5 centimeters] square very nicely in a half hour." Abbot received several patents for solar inventions, including this oven.
9. SIAHSO_161202_048.JPG: Charles G. Abbot with assistants testing a solar engine, 1935.
10. SIAHSO_161202_051.JPG: Sunrise Solar energy is supplying an ever larger portion of America's electricity. The Department of Energy estimated that solar panels represent nearly 40% of the nation's new electrical generation in 2016. Innovations that make the power grid respond better to increased use of solar are being tested in communities around the world. Even the Smithsonian is choosing to "go solar," installing panels on several museums around the National Mall.
11. SIAHSO_161202_054.JPG: Sunrise Solar energy is supplying an ever larger portion of America's electricity. The Department of Energy estimated that solar panels represent nearly 40% of the nation's new electrical generation in 2016. Innovations that make the power grid respond better to increased use of solar are being tested in communities around the world. Even the Smithsonian is choosing to "go solar," installing panels on several museums around the National Mall.
12. SIAHSO_161202_057.JPG: Flip the switch. Plug it in. Americans rely on a constant supply of electricity. Where does all that power come from? Burning fossil fuels -- coal, oil, and natural gas -- has been the most common way to generate electricity. But that releases greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change. Although no energy source is perfect, using renewable sources including solar energy is becoming an important option. Humans have used the sun's light and heat for millennia but only recently learned how to convert solar energy to electricity. Researchers today are tackling technical and economic challenges to make solar power more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective. And people across the country -- from the board room to the dining room -- are deciding to "go solar."
13. SIAHSO_161202_060.JPG: Buttons advocating solar energy, 1970s and 1980s. For many people, the 1970s energy crisis was a call to action to change how electricity was generated and used. Making the choice to "go solar" -- and encouraging others to do the same -- reflected growing optimism about the potential of clean, accessible solar energy.
14. SIAHSO_161202_063.JPG: Power cable for 345,000 volt system, around 1970 Electric power lines have been connecting generating plants to customers since Thomas Edison put lines under the streets of New York City in 1880. Today aluminum lines like this one carry electricity hundreds of miles. Keeping a steady flow of electricity in the grid while adding intermittent power from many dispersed solar panels is an engineering challenge.
15. SIAHSO_161202_068.JPG: Bi-directional electric meter on panel box, 2016 Since Edison's day, electrical meters have measured the flow of current in one direction only -- from power plant to user. Customers can then be billed for the amount of electricity they use. Measuring current that flows in both directions requires a bi-directional or net meter like this one. It runs forward when the user draws power from the electric lines and backwards when solar panels make more power than the building is using. This feature can lower the customer's monthly electric bill and reduces the need for new power plants to meet growing demand.
16. SIAHSO_161202_073.JPG: Solar Electric A Million Solar Roofs The U.S. Department of Energy launched the Million Solar Roofs Initiative in 1997. When the federal program ended in 2005, California continued with its own California Solar Initiative (CSI). Through rebates and research grants, the CSI has supported nearly 500,000 solar projects. Its goal is to generate enough electricity to power about a million homes by 2018. The system displayed here -- comprising a photovoltaic panel, a power inverter, and a meter panel -- is typical of that used in the CSI. At night and on cloudy days, a home drew power from the electric grid. But on sunny days excess power from the solar panel fed the grid. This turned the building into both a consumer and a producer of electricity.
17. SIAHSO_161202_075.JPG: How does a rooftop solar installation work? 1. Sunlight shining on the rooftop photovoltaic panel produces direct current electricity. 2. An inverter changes the direct current electricity into alternating current, which is what most appliances use. 3. A two-way electric meter connects to the grid, measuring the current coming into or going away from the house. 4. If the photovoltaic panel produces more electricity than the home needs, the excess can be sent back into the grid. 5. When the home needs more electricity than the photovoltaic panel produces, power can be drawn from the grid.
18. SIAHSO_161202_077.JPG: Solar Electric Photovoltaics In 1839 French scientist Edmond Becquerel discovered that light produces an electric current in certain materials. By the 1950s, scientists and engineers had expanded this discovery into the science of photovoltaics, or generating electricity from light, and invented the first solar cells. A few solar cells can power small devices like radios and calculators. Linked together in panels, solar cells can power an entire house. Every item powered by solar cells is one less device drawing power from the grid. Applying solar energy on a small scale built technical expertise and created markets for solar-powered devices. It also fueled further research into new materials and designs that capture more of the sun's energy, helping to increase efficiency and lower costs. However, storing large amounts of electricity remains difficult.
19. SIAHSO_161202_079.JPG: Silicon solar cells, 1960–1985 Solar cells come in many shapes and sizes, and are manufactured with a variety of materials. These are all made with the element silicon. The dark areas absorb sunlight. The thick and thin lines are part of the electrical circuit.
20. SIAHSO_161202_085.JPG: Experimental silicon P-N junction, 1940
21. SIAHSO_161202_087.JPG: Bell Labs experimental photovoltaic cell, 1954 Building on the work of Russell Ohl, Bell Labs researchers Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson invented a practical solar cell in 1954. The company adapted the invention to power telephone equipment in remote locations. This early experimental cell still produces electricity today.
22. SIAHSO_161202_092.JPG: Vacuum tubes are specialized light bulbs that control the flow of electric current. Commonly used in 20th-century radios and televisions, tubes burned out and consumed a lot of electricity. The invention of transistors at Bell Labs in 1947 gave engineers a more reliable alternative that needed very little power to function.
23. SIAHSO_161202_094.JPG: Comsat solar cell display, around 1975 This display shows a decade of experimentation with new materials and techniques to improve solar cell efficiency. Each group of cells on the panel produces an equal amount of electricity. A violet cell absorbs more light than a conventional cell by converting light to electricity closer to its surface. A non-reflective cell absorbs even more light because less bounces off its surface.
24. SIAHSO_161202_098.JPG: Sharp Estimate EL-376C calculator around 1980 This handheld calculator operates with solar cells. The introduction of inexpensive integrated circuits in the 1970s helped drive a revolution in electronic devices that were both small and powerful. Within a few years prices dropped so much that companies like Goya Foods could give promotional calculators to their customers.
25. SIAHSO_161202_109.JPG: Chronar calculator watch, around 1977 Consumers could buy solar-powered products within ten years of the of invention solar cells. Entrepreneur Zoltan Kiss founded Chronar Corporation in 1976 and introduced this calculator watch the following year. The watch used battery power in combination with solar cells that are located above the numerical display.
26. SIAHSO_161202_113.JPG: Hoffman model KP706 Trans-Solar radio, around 1960 Consumers could buy solar-powered products within ten years of the invention of solar cells. Hoffman Electronics manufactured cells for satellites but company president H. Leslie Hoffman believed the sun could power other products. Hoffman took advantage of newly invented transistors and introduced the Trans-Solar portable radio that could run on sunlight or batteries.
27. SIAHSO_161202_118.JPG: Bill Nye Solar Powered Energy Kit, 1995 Companies began selling solar-powered toys for fun and education in the early 1960s. This kit features an inexpensive solar cell that can operate either in sunlight or under artificial light.
28. SIAHSO_161202_125.JPG: Solar Electric Unplugged Solar cells are especially useful in remote locations. Engineers showcased the new technology in the 1950s and '60s, choosing reliable and long-lasting solar cells to power satellites on long-term space missions. On Earth, photovoltaics are often used in places where electric power lines are impractical, undesirable, or nonexistent. Solar power has many applications, from traffic signs, telephone relays, and navigation equipment to wilderness cabins and recharging stations.
29. SIAHSO_161202_127.JPG: Solarex photovoltaic panel, around 1980 A surge in oil production in coastal waters provided an unexpected market for solar cells. Oil companies initially used short-lived batteries to power navigation beacons on offshore platforms. Crews regularly hauled tons of heavy batteries to the platforms -- an expensive process -- and dumped the used batteries into the ocean. Solar panels like this one required little maintenance and lasted for years. Applications on land and at sea provided markets for solar panel producers that pushed research, lowered costs, and proved that solar cells were not solely practical in space.
30. SIAHSO_161202_130.JPG: Telstar solar cell, around 1962 Scientists and engineers at Bell Telephone worked during the 1950s to design and build a telecommunications satellite. In 1962 NASA launched Telstar 1 into orbit. Bell's solar cells, like the one seen here, covered the spacecraft and provided fifteen watts of power.
31. SIAHSO_161202_133.JPG: SunPower–Honda solar module, 1994 In February 1994 this experimental solar module set a record for efficiency by converting nearly a quarter of the sunlight that shone on it into electricity. A team from SunPower Corp., Sandia National Lab, and EPRI were investigating ways to mass produce high-efficiency solar cells. To test their process, the team made the cells that Honda used to win the 1993 World Solar Challenge car race. Cells from that production run went into this panel -- and it can still produce about twenty-six volts today.
32. SIAHSO_161202_138.JPG: Off-shore oil platform using solar power for navigation beacons, around 2010.
33. SIAHSO_161202_140.JPG: Solar panel on call box in California
34. SIAHSO_161202_145.JPG: Solar panels on a remote cabin in Wiseman, Alaska
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2016 photos: Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. Seven relatively short trips this year: two Civil War Trust conference (Gettysburg, PA and West Point, NY, with a side-trip to New York City), my 11th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including sites in Utah, Nevada, and California), a quick trip to Michigan for Uncle Wayne's funeral, two additional trips to New York City, and a Civil Rights site trip to Alabama during the November elections. Being in places where people died to preserve the rights of minority voters made the Trumputin election even more depressing. Number of photos taken this year: just over 610,000.
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