How solar panels convert solar energy into electricity?

Question

How solar panels convert solar energy into electricity?

Answer 1

Look into the photoelectric effect.

In a nutshell what happens is that photons of light hit a photoelectric material and transfer their energy to it. In doing so they break electrons off. It takes some of the photon's energy to break those electrons off. If there is leftover energy after breaking off those electrons the electrons will get that energy and their movement are what we know as electricity.

Answer 2

Well, what solar panels do is that when light strikes them, the photons collide with the electrons on the panel creating a current. In the beginning, solar panels were made of metal, but now they are made of semiconductors which generate more electricity than metals.

Hope this helps.