solar cell
13
3.6
- noun
- /ˈsoʊlər sɛl/
- Specialized
:
célula solar
- The solar cell converts sunlight directly into electricity for our home.
- electricity from solar cells
- silicon solar cells
- solar cells and batteries
At first he thought of looking into solar cells.
- At first he thought of looking into solar cells.
- These combined materials are called tandem solar cells.
- Americans invented the solar cell, but we let the frontier of solar development escape to Germany and Japan and now China.
- It's discovered that some of them you can use as solar cells.
- So this clearly showed that you can do a lot by optical design in solar cell.
Examples
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OK, so solar cells convert sunlight to electricity.
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We had to dust off the solar cells and check the batteries.
Fiction book (1998) -
Now the next question about the solar cell is how much current to expect.
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The solar cell is operational.
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Solar cells could power an entire farm.
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Regardless of the approach, ultimately the cost of silicon solar cells will depend on the starting material.
Academic text (1993) -
Now there are many industries trying to improve solar cells and trying to create alternatives to exploit solar light.
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Semiconductor materials used to fabricate solar cells are sensitive to the color of the sunlight.
Academic text (1993) -
Similarly, homeowners might produce hydrogen from rooftop solar cells and store it in the basement.
Academic text (1999) -
So much technology has come from our space exploration, from solar cells to cochlear implants to firefighting technology.
Synonyms
53
3.1
A device that uses sunlight to make electricity
2
4.6
A device that changes sunlight into electricity
2
5.6
A device like a solar panel that converts sunlight into electricity
A device that makes a small electric signal when light hits it to detect or measure light
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'device that converts sunlight into electrical energy' is directly and transparently derivable from combining 'solar' (pertaining to the sun) with 'cell' (a unit producing electricity). This ADJ+NOUN composition is a straightforward compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Solar cell comes from two simple words: solar means the sun and cell means a small unit that makes power. Picture a tiny unit that catches sunlight and changes it into electricity, so the name means a device that 'turns sunlight into electricity'.