Ever since the dawn of time

Ever since the dawn of time, the sun has been a resource we cannot live or do without, so its not such a shock that man has come up with the idea of solar energy. Solar energy had many uses. Some can be dangerous and some, a very valuable asset to the modern world. Solar energy is energy derived from the sun in a form of ultra-violet rays. Its was first applied to use in 212 B.C., by the Greek genius Archimedes. Solar energy was used to defend the harbor of Syracuse against the Roman fleet. Archimedes used a mirror or burning mirror as they had called it, to set fire to the ships of the Roman fleets while standing on shore. It wasnt until 1615 when Salomon de Caux constructed the first solar device; a solar engine. His device was made of glass lenses, supporting frame, and an airtight metal vessel containing water and air. This produced a small water fountain when the air heated up during operation. This was considered to be more of a toy than a device, but it was the! first published account of the use of solar energy since the fall of the Roman Empire Some other use of solar energy after that was the solar roof and the solar oven. In a solar roof system, water is contained in a clear plastic bag and it is placed on a black metal roof. A man traveling through India on a technical aid mission for the U.S government found the idea. While there, he noticed that many people were living in rusty, sheet metal shacks, which were hot in the day and cold at night. Hays plan was to remove the insulation from the roof on winter days so that the roof would get hot, and Replacing the insulation at night to allow the shack to be warm through the night. Then in the summer, he would so the reverse of what he did in winter to let the house cool at night and replacing the insulation in the daytime to block out the heat. Then over the years, a 3- by 3.7-m building using water basins as the actual roofing material was ...