Meaning of solar energy

Solar panel systems are devices that convert light into electricity. These are generally called "solar power" panels because most of that time, more effective supply of light available could be the sunlight, labeled as Sol by astronomers. Some experts call them photovoltaics which means, basically, "light-electricity."

Figure from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Deep-space One Site:

a solar panel is an accumulation of solar power cells. Lots of small solar cells spread over a large area can work together to provide enough power to be useful. The greater light that hits a mobile, the greater electrical energy it creates, so spacecraft usually are made with solar energy panels that can continually be pointed during the Sun even while the remainder body of the spacecraft moves around, a lot as a tank turret can be aimed by themselves of where in fact the tank goes.

DS1's solar cells are a lot more efficient than regular solar panels designed for satellites simply because they use