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On this day, February 5, 1957, the patent for the solar energy converting apparatus was officially published. Originally filed on March 5, 1954, by Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson, this groundbreaking invention utilized silicon to convert solar rays into usable energy.
After extensive experimentation, the team achieved a 6% efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity—a significant milestone at the time. Today, silicon remains the core material in approximately 95% of solar panels, yet solar energy accounts for only about 3.9% of electricity generation in the U.S.
