{"id":10509,"date":"2023-03-06T07:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/?p=10509"},"modified":"2023-02-17T15:39:04","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T20:39:04","slug":"the-prehistory-of-solar-panels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2023\/03\/06\/the-prehistory-of-solar-panels\/","title":{"rendered":"The prehistory of solar panels"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"461\" data-attachment-id=\"10510\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2023\/03\/06\/the-prehistory-of-solar-panels\/georgecovesolarpanel\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/georgecovesolarpanel.png\" data-orig-size=\"800,615\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"georgecovesolarpanel\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/georgecovesolarpanel-400x308.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/georgecovesolarpanel-600x461.png\" src=\"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/georgecovesolarpanel-600x461.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/georgecovesolarpanel-600x461.png 600w, https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/georgecovesolarpanel-400x308.png 400w, https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/georgecovesolarpanel-150x115.png 150w, https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/georgecovesolarpanel-768x590.png 768w, https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/georgecovesolarpanel.png 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>George Cove\u2019s third solar panel. Source: \u201cHarnessing sunlight\u201d, Ren\u00e9 Homer, Modern Electrics, Vol. II, No.6, September 1909.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>My work sends me looking for all kinds of things that I would never, if entirely directing my own research, be compelled to search and learn.  I am grateful for this.  This is how I learned about George Cove and his solar electric generator&#8230;a little known 1909 precursor to solar panels.  The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.resilience.org\/stories\/2021-10-21\/how-to-build-a-low-tech-solar-panel\/\"><em>Resilience<\/em> article &#8220;How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?&#8221;<\/a> goes into detail on Cove&#8217;s work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the picture caption of the photograph from the <em>Resilience <\/em>article, I was able to find two articles about Cove&#8217;s work at the time:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Homer, Ren\u00e9 (1909). Harnessing sunlight.  <em>Modern Electrics<\/em>.  2 (6): 243.  <a href=\"https:\/\/babel.hathitrust.org\/cgi\/pt?id=mdp.39015051407073&amp;view=1up&amp;seq=5\">https:\/\/babel.hathitrust.org\/cgi\/pt?id=mdp.39015051407073&amp;view=1up&amp;seq=5<\/a> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Laughter, Victor (1910). Generating Electricity by the Sun&#8217;s Rays. <em>Popular Electricity<\/em>. 2(12): 804.  <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/popularelectrici02chi\/page\/804\/\">https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/popularelectrici02chi\/page\/804\/<\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My work sends me looking for all kinds of things that I would never, if entirely directing my own research, be compelled to search and learn. I am grateful for this. This is how I learned about George Cove and his solar electric generator&#8230;a little known 1909 precursor to solar panels. The Resilience article &#8220;How&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2023\/03\/06\/the-prehistory-of-solar-panels\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The prehistory of solar panels<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[73,123],"class_list":["post-10509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-librarians","tag-research"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10513,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2023\/04\/26\/victor-laughter-and-wireless-telephony\/","url_meta":{"origin":10509,"position":0},"title":"Victor Laughter and wireless telephony","author":"leems","date":"April 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Victor Laughter in 'Transmission of Photographs by Wireless' in Popular Electricity in Plain English. v.3 n.3 pg.254 While I was learning all about the little known 1909 precursor to solar panels during my work helping researchers, I noticed something else in Popular Electricity in Plain English that astonished me.\u00a0 One\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Victor-laughter-technical-world-magazine.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Victor-laughter-technical-world-magazine.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Victor-laughter-technical-world-magazine.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10893,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2024\/04\/08\/holidays-in-the-movies-rex-manning-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":10509,"position":1},"title":"Holidays in the Movies:  Rex Manning Day!","author":"leems","date":"April 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"April 8th is Rex Manning Day! Because sometimes movies create holidays of their own. This year, Rex Manning Day just happens to coincide with a solar eclipse. So why not pair a rewatch of Empire Records (1995) with The Awakening (1980).","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10258,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2022\/08\/31\/slang-at-the-internet-archive\/","url_meta":{"origin":10509,"position":2},"title":"Slang at the Internet Archive","author":"leems","date":"August 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"It has been a little while since Clement Skitt showed up on the bean, but you may have gleaned from Clement Skitt's word of the day that I have a bit of an affinity for vintage slang. I gave that affinity a place to live by making it a love\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10468,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2023\/02\/02\/giggles-at-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":10509,"position":3},"title":"Giggles at work","author":"leems","date":"February 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A tandem at the Ostrich Farm, Jacksonville, Fla\" (1909). Hampton Dunn Collection of Florida Postcards. USF Libraries. \"Wish you were here in Saint Petersburg Florida with us having a fine time\" (1930). Hampton Dunn Collection of Florida Postcards. USF Libraries. \"Loading oranges\" (2021). Hampton Dunn Collection of Florida Postcards. USF\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/D32_0338-150x96.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/D32_0338-150x96.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/D32_0338-150x96.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9017,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2020\/06\/01\/black-lives-matter\/","url_meta":{"origin":10509,"position":4},"title":"Black Lives Matter","author":"leems","date":"June 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The NAACP was founded in 1909. In 1952 we had corny PSAs discouraging racism. Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013. In 2020 we are living through a global pandemic that is disproportionately killing members of the black community in the U.S. due, at least in part, to inequalities in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6414,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2016\/10\/06\/clement-skitts-word-of-the-day-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":10509,"position":5},"title":"Clement Skitt&#8217;s Word of the Day","author":"leems","date":"October 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\"I'll collar a vertical care-grinder come Saint Geoffrey's Day.\" Let's dissect: collar (v)\u00a0to get, to obtain, to comprehend. Ex. \"I gotta collar me some food\", \"Do you collar this jive?\" (Cab Calloway's\u00a0Cat-ologue 1939) Vertical Care-Grinder: a slang term for the treadmill (The slang dictionary: or, the vulgar words, street phrases\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ClementSkittsays006","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/ClementSkittsays006-517x600.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10509"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10516,"href":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10509\/revisions\/10516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}