Solar car races have existed for a number of years, with many such as
the
“American Solar Challenge” that runs a 1,100 mile course from Broken
Arrow,
Oklahoma to Naperville,
Illinois having gone on for roughly 20 years now.
These races have even
become so well known in many media cultures to have become the focus of
some movies, such as the 1996 comedy-drama “Race the Sun”.
Beyond simply
being an interesting pastime, however, these races have a very real
benefit to many alternative energy
industry
personnel and have played an active role in helping to shape the modern
solar power industry.
Focusing on the most efficient and effective usage of energy possible
from solar photovoltaic cells available today, solar car
participants must use their engineering
skills to develop a vehicle that is both light weight and energy
efficient enough to allow them to achieve both speed and endurance into a
small craft to make the substantial run between cities.
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