Solar Energy: An Introduction Michael E. Mackay
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Solar Energy: An Introduction Michael E. Mackay Oxford University Press, 2015 336 pages, $98.50 (paperback $49.95, e-book $48.99) ISBN 978-0-19-965210-5
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his book provides an introduction to all aspects of solar energy, from photovoltaic devices to active and passive solar thermal energy conversion. Its main characteristic is that it helps to gain an overview on these topics and at the same time provides some detailed knowledge with emphasis on the quantitative approach. The book deals with both photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal energy processes. The first chapter explains why it is important to use solar energy, the current energy usage on Earth, and the practical advantages of using PV technologies. Chapter 2 describes the reactions taking place in the core of the sun and producing solar light, and calculates through earth-sun geometric relations the amount of solar light reaching the earth's atmosphere and what part of the irradiation arrives on a terrestrial device. The third chapter provides the basic principles used in the rest of the book, such as the
laws of thermodynamics and explanations of the properties of the optimal materials for PV and for solar thermal applications. Chapter 4 discusses semiconductor physics that is fundamental to a deep understanding of device functionality. The fifth chapter covers absorption and explains how much radiation can be absorbed by a semiconductor to generate current (in a solar cell) or heat energy (in solar thermal devices), depending on the material electronic structure. The next chapter describes how a solar cell works and what the electrical characteristics look like; the diode equation is derived, the important parasitic effects—such as shunt and series resistance—are determined, and their effect on cell performance is illustrated. Next, the author discusses solar towers where heated air is channeled into a chimney to power a turbine (chapter 7), a topic not easily found in other books, and on the solar energy collector to heat fluids (chapter 8). In the last chapter, the energy
Moore’s Law: The Life of Gordon Moore, Silicon Valley’s Quiet Revolutionary Arnold Thackray, David C. Brock, and Rachel Jones Basic Books, 2015 530 pages, $35.00 ISBN 978-0-465-05564-7
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ive decades ago, Gordon Moore, who would go on to co-found Intel Corporation, made a prescient observation about the exponential advancement of semiconductor technology with a corresponding decrease in device cost. His prediction about the pace of doubling the number of transistors in an integrated
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VOLUME 41 • MAY 2016
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circuit came to be known eponymously as Moore’s Law and has held true for 50 years. He also foresaw, way back in 1965, the development of home computers, electronic controls in automobiles, portable communications systems, and electronic wristwatches. Moore’s fascinating life, characterized by relentless innovation,
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generation from solar thermal is discussed in terms of the thermodynamic cycle to explain the heat to work transformati
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