Solar Cell

Chapin, Fuller, Pearson, Bell Labs, USA, patent 2,780,765 of 1957. The silicon cell that turned sunlight into an industry.

Overview

Bell Labs' 1954 silicon photovoltaic cell, patented 1957, converted about 6 percent of sunlight, first powering rural telephone repeaters. Vanguard I carried solar cells to orbit in 1958, where they still outlive the satellites' radios. Hoffman Electronics pushed efficiency past 10 percent by 1959. The oil shocks of the 1970s brought terrestrial funding, and China's manufacturing later drove prices down a hundredfold. Solar now leads new electricity capacity worldwide. The 2,780,765 patent is the sun economy's root.