human
I've been hearing a lot about the benefits of solar energy, but I'm not sure I understand how it works. Can you give me some more information on this?
assistant
Solar energy is the conversion of sunlight into electricity or heat by photovoltaic (PV) cells or solar thermal collectors. Photovoltaic cells are made up of semiconductors and use the energy from photons to generate an electric current. Solar thermal collectors use mirrors or lenses to focus the sun's rays onto a tube filled with a fluid that absorbs the heat and transfers it to a working fluid which can then be used for heating or other purposes.