What Is the
Mystery Image Contest?
The Mystery Image Contest offers the chance to identify a science-related object based on a close-up picture of it.
This image is of a solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell. Solar cells are electrical devices that can turn sunlight into electricity. They were first invented in the 1950s, though the scientific principles behind them were discovered by other scientists, including Albert Einstein, up to 75 years before that. Perhaps you have seen a solar cell on a calculator or grouped into larger solar panels on the roofs of buildings, or heard of competitions to design cars that run entirely on solar power. Though the technology to convert sunlight into electricity has existed for decades now, the current designs for solar cells are still very inefficient. There is theoretically great potential, though, for solar power to become an important source of renewable energy—because sunlight is plentiful and free and because solar panels tend to not be as disruptive to the surrounding environment as, say, fossil fuels. Indeed, with the current technology there are some areas where solar power has achieved grid parity—where unsubsidized solar power is on par with or cheaper than retail electricity prices. Improving the efficiency of solar cells and continuing to bring down the cost is one problem that engineers are working on as the need for renewable energy sources becomes more pressing.
This image is of a solar cell.
Georg Slickers via Wikimedia Commons
Douglas A. Hanks
Department of Chemistry, Univ. of Nevada Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Science NetLinks Mystery Image Contest Rules and Regulations
The Mystery Image Contest offers the chance to identify a science-related object based on a close-up picture of it.