With the help of quantum theory, German physicist Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was able to explain the photoelectric effect, a phenomenon first hinted at through the discovery of the photovoltaic effect by Alexandre Edmond Becquerel (1820–1891) in 1839. Einstein’s achievement earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 and, together with further developments in photovoltaics, laid the foundations for modern solar energy research.
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Further Readings:
- Deshmukh, Pranawa C., and Shyamala Venkataraman. "100 Years of Einstein’s Photoelectric Effect." Published in two parts in the Bulletin of Indian Physics Teachers Association (Sept., and Oct issues, 2006). View PDF
- Perlin, John. From Space to Earth: The Story of Solar Electricity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002.
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1905