Test 2 Flashcards
The sun is a gaseous body composed mostly of hydrogen, with some helium and traces of heavier elements.
True
Greater solar irradiance means energy accumulates faster, which results in greater solar irradiation.
True
Solar radiation includes only visible light.
False
The two major types of radiation reaching the ground are direct radiation and diffuse radiation.
True
Direct radiation is radiation that is scattered by the atmosphere and clouds.
False
The amount of solar radiation that is absorbed or scattered in the atmosphere is constant regardless of how much atmosphere it passes through before reaching Earth’s surface.
False
Air mass depends upon the time of day, the time of year, and the altitude and latitude of the specified location.
True
Insolation is usually used to rate the solar energy potential of a location by calculating the average energy received per day.
True
Direct solar radiation is measured with a pyrheliometer
True
The equatorial plane is the plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun.
False
The array azimuth angle is the vertical angle between horizontal and the array surface.
False
Solar radiation is a highly variable resource and significant differences exist among regions in the United States.
True
____ time is a timescale based on the apparent motion of the sun crossing a local meridian.
Solar
Solar ____ is the intensity of solar power.
irradiance
Solar _____ is the total amount of solar energy accumulated on an area over time.
irradiation
The electromagnetic ____ is the range of all types of electromagnetic radiation, based on wavelength.
spectrum
Solar radiation is ____ by components of the atmosphere, including ozone, carbon dioxide, and water vapor, as well as other gases and particles.
Absorbed, scattered, and reflected (all of the above)
____ radiation is all of the solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface and is the sum of direct and diffuse radiation.
Total global
____ is the point in the sky directly overhead a particular location.
Zenith
Peak sun is an estimate of peak solar irradiance reaching earth’s surface and has a generally accepted value of ____ W/m².
1000
A ____ is a sensor that measures the total global solar irradiance in a hemispherical field of view.
Pyranometer
A(n) ____ is Earth’s orbital position when solar declination is at its minimum or maximum.
Solstice
The solar ___ angle is the vertical angle between the sun and the horizon.
Altitude
The ____ law is a physical law that states that the amount of radiation is proportional to the inverse of the square of the distance from the source.
inverse square
____ solar radiation is solar radiation just outside Earth’s atmosphere.
extraterrestrial
Solar ____ is the angle between the equatorial plane and the line joining the centers of the sun and Earth (in the ecliptic plane).
declination
____ radiation is solar radiation directly from the sun that reaches Earth’s surface without scattering.
direct
____ is a representation of the relative distance of atmosphere that solar radiation must travel through to reach Earth’s surface.
air mass
____ solar radiation is solar radiation reaching the surface of the Earth.
terrestrial
____ is the solar energy that reaches Earth’s surface over the course of a day.
insolation
The atmospheric gas ___ plays an important role in blocking harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching Earth’s surface.
ozone
A(n) _____ cell is an encapsulated PV cell that outputs a known amount of electrical current per unit of solar irradiance.
reference
A(n) _____ is a plane formed by a due north-south longitude line through a location on Earth and projected out into space.
meridian
The solar ____ is the area of sky between sun paths at summer solstice and winter solstice for a particular location.
window
