Silicon must be 99.9999999% pure to be used in creating microchips

After the mined quartz is processed in an electric-arc furnace to remove oxygen from the silica, it undergoes the Siemens process, where it is bathed in hydrochloric acid. The liquid produced in the reaction undergoes multiple distillations to produce ultra-pure silicon in the end.

The first practical silicon solar cell was developed at Bell Labs

In 1953, scientists at Bell Labs attempted to develop a power source for phone systems in remote locations, as the dry battery cells lacked the necessary longevity. They experimented with solar power, but the selenium solar cells of the time were too inefficient, eventually leading to the usage of silicon.

Within fabrication plants, it takes about three months to manufacture hundreds of microchips from a single wafer of pure silicon using light and significant quantities of electricity, water, and hazardous chemicals.

In the photovoltaic effect, light generates electricity by creating a charge imbalance after knocking electrons out of atoms in the semiconducting materials of solar cells.

Sand 'batteries' can store excess electricity from the power grid as thermal energy

Energy collected from solar or wind power is used to heat insulated silos full of sand to temperatures as high as 450 degrees Celsius (842 degrees Fahrenheit), which can be retained for long periods. These thermal energy storage systems can be designed to boil water and generate electricity when needed.

Watch a tour of an integrated circuit fabrication plant

Explore the protocols in place to ensure clean rooms have no dust to jeopardize the integrity of silicon wafers as they are transformed into working microchips. Layering, photolithography, etching, and chemical vapor deposition are shown alongside digital visualizations.

Where does your glass come from?

Glass is created from silica sand, soda ash, and limestone. The more transparent you want your glass to be, the higher the purity you need from your silica—a rarity. Colorless, low-iron glass featured in skyscraper windows and Apple's cube-shaped showrooms has increased demand for such pure silica.

Glass can be endlessly recycled without losing quality

Sand from specialized mines is thoroughly cleaned and melted at more than 1,600 degrees Celsius before being poured onto liquid tin and evenly spread out to form glass sheets. Some factories are designed to reprocess 100% of glass scraps created when cutting glass with diamond-tipped blades or lasers.

Photolithography etches circuit components into a semiconductor wafer

A high-energy laser is fired at molten tin droplets, turning them into plasma that releases the ultraviolet light needed to burn the wafer's photoresist layer. A mask controls what parts of the wafer are etched for subsequent chemical processing.

Lasers help build the layers of circuit components in microchips

During the photolithography process, light is projected through a blueprint onto a light-sensitive chemical layer on silicon wafers, etching patterns that become transistors through a series of successive reactions. These processes require significant electricity, as only about 2% of photons reach the wafer.

During manufacturing, lithium-ion and alkaline batteries are tested for short-circuiting

Lithium-ion batteries are made by manufacturing anodes, cathodes, and electrolytes via chemical processes, assembling these components into cells, and enclosing multiple interconnected cells within a protective casing. Disposable alkaline battery production involves filling steel containers with preforms—rings of powdered cathode material—paper-based separators, electrolyte solution, and an anode gel.

A 1,000 square kilometer patch of solar panels in Africa can power most of Europe

The $500 billion Desertec initiative would have constructed massive solar farms in the Sahara and expansive electrical transmission networks across continents. However, the plan was built on concentrated solar power technology, which is more expensive and less practical than photovoltaics.

Solar panels can create pollinator-friendly habitats by protecting flowering plants

An example of agrivoltaics, where land is used for solar energy production and agriculture, the panels provide clean energy while also shading plants from excessive sunlight. Pollinator-friendly plants can improve water quality and reduce soil erosion by obstructing the wind.

The first rooftop solar panels were installed in 1883

In 1883, New York inventor Charles Fritts created the first solar cell by coating selenium with a thin layer of gold. The cell achieved energy conversion rates of 1 to 2% compared to the 15 to 20% of modern photovoltaics.

Take a drone tour of a Tesla factory

The first of Tesla's large-scale European manufacturing plants for its electric vehicles was opened in Berlin in 2022. It—along with other facilities in Nevada, New York, Texas, and Shanghai—collectively manufactures solar panels, batteries, and other energy collection and storage products.

Nearly all of China's construction sand is artificial

Roughly 50 billion tons of sand are used in construction every year, mostly extracted from oceans, beaches, and rivers. To avoid depleting natural sand deposits, China crushes rocks and used materials to create an artificial sand, which it uses in 80% of its construction projects.

Clean energy technologies are more mineral-intensive than burning fossil fuels

Solar panels use silver due to its high conductivity, hydropower plants use chromium in their steel alloys, and geothermal plants need titanium to withstand abundant heat and pressure. Lithium—used in energy storage—is expected to see over 500% increased demand from 2020 to 2025.

Microchip fabricators create light by heating tin droplets to over 220,000 Kelvin

Every second, lasers strike 50,000 droplets moving at 250 kilometers (155 miles) per hour, vaporizing the tin in supernova-like miniature explosions that produce ultraviolet light. Knowing this light will spread via diffraction as it passes through a filter during manufacturing, designers reverse-engineer the filter design based on the required final microchip pattern.

Shenzhen, China is known as the 'Silicon Valley of Hardware'

The "Silicon Valley of Hardware" is a major manufacturing hub. This WIRED documentary from 2016 does a deep dive into how this Chinese city's practice of copycat manufacturing alongside its innovative culture has made it China's own Silicon Valley.

Watch a tour of a battery manufacturing gigafactory

Inside Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited's facility, China's largest EV battery manufacturer uses slurry mixing, "jelly rolling," electrolyte injection, and other techniques and equipment to transform raw metals such as lithium and magnesium into approximately 2.2 million electrochemical cells daily.

Unlike solar panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, concentrated solar power systems focus sunlight to heat a material that boils water, which then drives a turbine-generator to produce electricity.

Larger shares of solar power generation produce larger energy demand curves

Because solar energy is only available during daylight hours, transitioning an electric grid to solar requires significant ramp-ups and ramp-downs of other energy sources during mornings and evenings to compensate. Widespread adoption of affordable energy storage solutions can soften these curves.

Solar energy alone can fully power the world if transmission hurdles can be resolved

When light strikes a photovoltaic cell, electrons are loosened, which travel through a circuit where the energy can be used. Distributing energy from high solar intensity regions and storing energy for non-daylight hours is logistically challenging and costly.

Enough sunlight hits Earth in just 90 minutes to power the planet for an entire year

Despite this, in 2023, only 5.1% of electricity in the US came from solar energy. Solar panel technology has nonetheless made significant advancements since the 19th century, largely due to NASA's efforts in the space race.

View US solar energy industry trends and trajectories, tracked by SEIA

The Solar Energy Industries Association provides charts summarizing the state of solar energy in the US, including cumulative solar installations, solar jobs, photovoltaic pricing and deployment, and inflation and supply chain constraints within the market.

Salt is harvested from briny ocean water and underground deposits

Mostly sodium chloride, this compound is produced for human use by collecting seawater in shallow pans and allowing the Sun to evaporate the water until crystals remain. Underground rock salt is mined, crushed, and purified from deposits left behind by ancient seas that have dried-up.

The International Space Station is powered entirely by large solar arrays

Launched in 1998, its original solar panels were designed to withstand no more than 20 years of wear from temperature swings and micrometeoroid impacts in space. Replacement panels that roll out like carpets have since been installed.

Additive manufacturing consists of seven different process categories

Although 3D printing has become synonymous with the term, objects can be fabricated without filaments of hot plastic or light-sensitive powders. For example, during sheet lamination, ultrasonic waves—high-frequency vibrations—can join metal sheets by creating molecular bonds through friction.

Scientists have collected critical minerals from ocean water using seaweed, a type of algae that leaves behind a mineral-rich powder called bio-ore after being processed into biofuels.

Watch how metals are extracted from rechargeable devices during recycling

Recyclable batteries found in cars, phones, power tools, and other electronics contain lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other precious metals, whose reuse generates 70% fewer emissions than during their initial mining. Upon shredding these devices, a filter press squeezes the pieces through a proprietary fluid, which separates them for future reuse.

Explore global solar resources with this interactive map

One of the biggest challenges to deploying solar panels is whether electricity can be generated reliably when needed, day after day. This detailed interactive map calculates the solar power output potential of regions worldwide and provides a visual comparison between locations such as North Africa and the US Midwest.

View a gallery of diatoms—algae surrounded by glass-like shells—captured via microscope.

The carbon footprint of manufacturing a wind turbine is offset within seven months

Despite initial carbon emissions during manufacturing, wind turbines generate nearly zero pollution across their 20- to 25-year lifetimes. Offsets occur when turbines replace energy generation from coal and natural gas plants, which emit carbon dioxide.

How solar systems form

Learn how our sun, the planets, and other solar system bodies came to be with these videos and an infographic from NASA. Use this resource to visualize how the solar system formed and to model and describe the process.

Building the solar system to scale in the Nevada desert

On a dry lakebed in Nevada, a group of friends build the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits: a true illustration of our planet's humble position in space.

Coined in 1971, the man credited with naming Silicon Valley was originally writing about semiconductors

Silicon Valley gained its name from an article published in January 1971, in Electronic News. Author Don Hoefler used the term in his headline for an article he was writing about the semiconductor industry. Hoefler is credited with naming the multi-trillion dollar area that is still called Silicon Valley today.

Space-based solar power systems may beam energy to Earth

Researchers have successfully collected power from solar panels on a plane and transmitted it to a receiver on Earth's surface, achieving a milestone for space-based energy. The proof of concept is a precursor for a satellite-based solar farm that would transmit energy 24 hours a day.

How silica gel took over the world

Silica gel packets are those sugar packet-like bags that keep packaged foods and more dry and free of mildew. First invented in the early 20th century, they saw great commercial success starting in 1927, being deployed in traded goods across the world. This simple invention allows modern supply chains to extend across the globe by extending the preservation of shipped goods.