• Antimutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 year ago

    Look! My solar panels are 23% efficient! 😀

    And what happens to the other 77%? It turns into heat! 🥵

    • Cypher@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I don’t have stats on hand but its much less than 77% of photons “turning into heat”.

      Those photons do lose some energy which is kinetic and becomes heat but it’s not 100% either, as those photons mostly just bounce off after losing a little energy.

      • Antimutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        Solar panels appear dark - more so than a 23% reduction can account for. The whole of the other 77% will not immediately turn into heat, but the bulk of it will. Some photons bounce, with a dependence on colour - but what happens to them then? A tiny amount will escape the Earth, with the rest absorbed by objects, atmosphere and eyes - mostly becoming heat. And what happens to visible light when it loses “a little energy”? It becomes infrared - y’know: heat.