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"Poised between intransigent scepticism and uncritical credulity, it [science fiction] is par excellence the literature of the open mind."
- John Brunner
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| Solar Reception Screen | ||
| A device for converting sunlight to electricity |
I don't know what kind of experimentation was going on fifteen years earlier than the date mentioned. I'm also curious when the idea of a set of receptors in a 'panel' format.
| The city of San Francisco replaced its antiquated cable cars with moving stairways, powered with the Douglas-Martin Solar Reception Screens. |
| Technovelgy from The Roads Must Roll,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1940 Additional resources -
|
Henri Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect in the late nineteenth century, which allowed the production of electricity directly from the sun. Photovoltaic power was never used commercially for many years, since it was very inefficient at turning sunlight into electricity.
See also the entry on sunpower screen, from Heinlein's story Coventry, also published in 1940.
The first commercial solar panel was made in 1954.
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'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
