Photovoltaics years in Northern Europe. The term "photovoltaic" comes from the Greek φῶς ("phōs") meaning "light", and from "volt", the unit of electro-motive force, the volt, which in turn comes from the last name of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta, inventor of the battery (electrochemical cell). The term "photo-voltaic" has been in use in English since 1849. Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the sun into a flow of electrons by the photovoltaic effect. Solar cells produce direct current electricity from sunlight which can be used to power
Memorial to Alessandro Valtrini case of Alessandro Valrtrini monument, a medallion-shaped portrait of Valtrini himself. Valtrini had been a wealthy donor during his lifetime. Three churches he had supported erected monuments to him, Il Gesù (where his body remained), Santa Maria sopra Minerva and the Bernini version in San Lorenzo in Damaso. He died in 1633. Francesco Barberini organised the Bernini commission in the late 1630s. Memorial to Alessandro Valtrini The Memorial to Alessandro Valtrini is a funerary monument designed by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1639, and executed by his workshop in the same year. It is situated in the church