00:00 Solar power is a clean and abundant source of energy that has the potential to replace traditional forms of energy production.

06:18 Solar power has been around since 1839, when a French physicist first demonstrated the photovoltaic effect, and it received a boost in the 1970s due to the energy crisis caused by the OPEC embargo.

12:11 Solar power has been installed at various places around the White House, including solar panels on the roof of the grounds maintenance building, and the price of solar has dropped 88% in the past decade.

17:49 Solar energy can be obtained through three methods: converting it into electricity, storing it as chemical energy, or converting it into heat, with the most common method being the conversion of sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic cells made of semiconductors like silicon.

23:34 Solar panels are made up of individual solar cells, which are connected together to form a module, and multiple modules make up a solar panel; the electricity generated by the solar cells flows in one direction and needs to be converted from DC to AC current using an inverter.

28:40 When considering solar power for your home, it's important to do an energy audit to identify areas where you can improve energy consumption and determine what percentage of your household energy you want to come from solar.

33:32 Solar panels in Australia are so effective that they can even be buried underground, and when designing a solar power system, it's important to take into account weather conditions and plan for the worst month in terms of sunlight and rainfall.

39:06 Perovskite solar cells are more efficient at capturing high-energy photons than silicon, and as manufacturing becomes easier, solar panels could reach 30-32% efficiency; selling excess solar energy back to the power company and applying it as a credit to a family in need is possible in many places, but the amount of money earned would depend on factors such as electricity costs and buyback rates; home batteries to store excess solar energy are expensive, adding a significant cost to a solar array.

44:11 Solar power systems can disconnect from the grid during a power outage to prevent dangerous islanding, but having a battery backup can provide power during blackouts.

49:58 The production and transportation of solar power systems have environmental impacts, but these limitations can be overcome through breakthroughs, and solar power still has the advantage of producing clean energy with fewer greenhouse gases compared to fossil fuels. Converting the entire country's system to renewables would require overcoming obstacles and completely rewriting infrastructure, but it is possible in the future.

55:18 Converting the entire U.S. electrical grid to solar power would cost around $4 trillion, but it is doable if there is political will, and another solution would be for every house and car to have its own solar power.

01:00:36 The hosts invite a colleague to talk about his podcast "ephemeral," which explores artifacts and forgotten corners of history through audio storytelling.