How can we demonstrate the principles of photovoltaics to children? Martin Ledinský from the Division of Solid State Physics asked himself this question - and came up with the Photovoltaic Tent project, which illustrates the photoelectric effect with balls and lights.
Solar energy, captured by photovoltaic cells, is an increasingly important source of energy for our civilization. But how can we demonstrate how it works even to the smallest kids, so that they get the gist and have fun while learning? Solar energy is based on the photoelectric effect: the sunrays (photons) hitting the photovoltaic cells release electrons from the cells' atoms, creating electricity. Inside the photovoltaic tent, children can play sunlight and add energy to electrons (colorful balls) to light up the tent in the process.
The photovoltaic tent appeared at the Science Fair 2023 and ScienceFest 2023, to the delight of the visitors, and together with further FZU popular science activities in the solar energy area (such as the "photovoltaic zoo"), it's going to appear at future events for the public.
Would you like to include the tent in your upcoming popular science event? Let us know! You can contact us at pr [at] fzu [dot] cz.
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