Book Post 6: "Let it Shine'' by John Perlin

Book Name : Let it Shine

Author : John Perlin

Genre : Non Fiction.

What is it about? : The books traces the History of Solar Power since the start of Humankind. There are very few books which trace the history of how the Sun's power was harnessed for humankind's use and this is one of them.

How I came to read it : In one of our University subjects we had to study about Solar Power. I wanted to know how solar power evolved over the years and a little bit of googling(yes its a word now) pointed me towards this book. I searched if the local VPL branch had it and fortunately they had and I got it the next day.

Did I like it? : Yes, I liked it immensely! Over the course of some 450 pages the author takes us on a journey from the Chinese in 6000 BC who sometimes built their homes keeping in mind the Sun's trajectory over the year (to make the optimum use of sun's warmth in winters) to the recent years when newer improved photovoltaics that have come up. The book is packed with many interesting and surprising bits of information that I had no idea about.

Why?/Summary/My views :
It is a general perception that solar power is a recent phenomenon but it is surprising to know that one of the first proper use of solar power devices was in 1860s. This book is packed with so many such details that at the end of it I wondered how come I never knew of Solar's rich history.

In brief, the book talks about five main areas: Solar architecture, Solar motors(for motive work), Solar water heating, Solar House heating and the recent photovoltaics. In each of these five main areas the author traces back the developments as far back as possible. In the architecture part, the story starts from the era of the Chinese in 6000 BC who used to build their houses in such a way that they could make maximum use of the sun's warming rays. It then traces the works of other civilizations like the Romans and Greeks. The second part talks about the works of two American inventors who did some pioneering work in developing solar motors: Augustin Mouchot and John Ericsson (Its the same guy after whom the thermodynamic Ericsson cycle is named). This part also describes what is called the World's first solar power plant built by Willsie Sun Power Company in 1904 (Its output drove a 6hp engine). Incremental upgrades led to much bigger and better plants soon. One of the surprising things that I learned here was that the concept of energy storage was in vogue from around this time. Another visionary about whom the book mentions is Frank Shuman who did a lot of work in the field of solar power plants.

The third part is about the evolution of Solar water heating from the 1800s when some of the earliest solar hearing companies were setup like the Climax Solar Water Heating company and the Day and Night Water heating company. Around the 1900s till the World War 2 it was a good time to be in the Solar industry. Most of the major developments described in the book happened in the UK and USA. The major developments which happened in other countries are also covered but they pale in comparison to the ones in UK and USA. The fourth part is about Solar House heating from the ancient times to the systematic work done by Bernhard Faust and Gustav Vorherr and to the revival of interest in solar house heating in the United States.

The fifth and the final part finally leads us to the Photovoltaics. The part I was waiting for the whole time I was reading the book.  This part starts off by describing the work of Willoughby Smith, The Chief electrician of the Gutta Percha Company in the 1860s. He observed the peculiar behavior of selenium under light and had published a paper about it. From here the phenomenon came under the spotlight and soon enough an inventor named Charles Fritts made the first photovoltaic array. Some years later, the next revolutionary step was made in the legendary Bell laboratories where the solar transistor was developed. This discovery was game changing. Also that was the time of the space age where there was a need for technologies that could help in solving the problem of providing power in space and this need was filled in brilliantly by the solar cells. This step actually saved the solar industry. The next few pages talk about the recent developments in this field. The last chapter summarizes and provides an update about all the above five parts. 

Overall this is a brilliant book which covers all the aspects of the history of solar and also provides detailed stories wherever its required like in the case of the work on solar transistors in Bell Laboratories. That is a story that needs to be heard by many.

Informative and enjoyable at the same time this book is a must read for all those interested in Solar.