CHAPTER 1 PLANT POWER Houses cars boats and buildings all need energy Without energy light bulbs would not light up And cars would not move In fact without energy cars and light bulbs would not even exist Scientists are always looking for new energy sources Some of their best ideas for energy technology come from nature Plants gain energy from the sun 5
Mimicking nature to solve human problems is called biomimicry Plants create the energy they need through photosynthesis In this process plants absorb sunlight through their leaves They turn the energy from the sun into energy they can store for later Solar panels use a slightly different process These devices turn sunlight into electricity Scientists have improved solar panels by studying sunflowers Sunflowers turn to face the sun during the day This helps them gather as much energy as possible Scientists used a similar method to create a solar power plant They built 6
7 clusters of mirrors around a central tower The mirrors reflect the sun's energy at the tower Then the tower turns the energy into electricity Similar to sunflowers the mirrors turn as the sun crosses the sky HOW SOLAR PANELS WORK 1 Solar panels turn energy from the sun into electricity 3 Unused power is directed to power lines for other use 2 A control device changes the electricity so it can power electrical items
