Photovoltaic Effect

What is Photovoltaic Effect?

The generation of a voltage when light strikes a semiconductor material, knocking electrons loose and sweeping them in a consistent direction using a built-in electric field at a junction. It converts light directly into electricity with no moving parts at all, and it's the working principle behind every solar panel in existence.

The five clues

Engineerdle #26 described Photovoltaic Effect with five clues, revealed one at a time from hardest to most direct. Each clue points at a different property of the concept.

1. 01An effect that converts one form of energy directly into another, with no moving parts.
2. 02Light striking a specific kind of material knocks electrons loose.
3. 03A built-in electric field then sweeps those freed electrons in one consistent direction.
4. 04It's the working principle behind every solar panel ever made.
5. 05The generation of a voltage or current in a semiconductor material when it's exposed to light.

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