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Definition: Solar |
SolarAdjective1. Relating to or derived from the sun or utilizing the energies of the sun; "solar eclipse"; "solar energy". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "solar" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Aerospace | 1. Of or pertaining to the sun or caused by the sun, as solar radiation, solar atmospheric tide.2. Relative to the sun as a datum or reference , as solar time. (references) |
Medicine | Of structures, characterized by radial symmetry. Source: European Union. (references) |
Mining | A. A platform in a Cornish Mine shaft and esp. between a series of ladders; a longitudinal partition forming an air passage between itself and the roof in a mine. Usually spelled sollar or soller. See also:sollarb. A colloquialism used by surveyors to mean an observation on the sun. (references) |
Science | Of or related to the Sun. Solar energy is produced from nuclear reactions that continually take place inside the Sun. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Sol is the name or personification of the Sun, as originally used in Latin, but thought to be derived from a Sanskrit word.The name is widely known, but not common in general English usage, although the related adjective solar is. It seems to be more frequently used in science fiction writing as a formal name for the star, perhaps to avoid the geocentric associations of the word Sun. By extension, the planetary system orbiting is often referred to as the "Sol System"
See also: Solar system, Star.
Other meanings
- The term sol is also used by NASA engineers, in unmanned Mars mission operations, to refer to a solar day on Mars. (An Earth day is 24 hours long, a Mars day or "sol" is 24 hours, 37 minutes long.)
- The sol is also the currency of Peru (ISO 4217 currency code: PEN).
- Sol, the Roman god of the sun, was equivalent to the Greek god Helios. See Helios for more details.
- Norse mythology features a goddess named Sol.
- A sol is a colloidal solution in which the system is apparently liquid. If water is the continuous phase, the system is called a hydrosol. The term sol is also applied to the dispersion medium of a colloidal solution. See sol (colloid) for more details.
- In solfege, sol is the fifth note of the scale.
- sol is also the name of the Klondike solitaire card game which is part of the GNOME desktop environment.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Sol."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A solar calendar is a calendar whose date indicates the season for a given place on Earth.
In a solar calendar, the year begins at approximately the same place in the cycle of seasons. To ensure this, the number of days in the year must vary from year to year. This can be done by having common years of 365 days and leap years of 366 days.
The following are solar calendars
The following have lunar months so are lunisolar calendar
- Gregorian calendar
- Julian calendar
- Coptic calendar
The Islamic calendar is the most well known calendar that is not a solar calendar. Its year of 12 lunar months drifts slowly through the seasons. It is a lunar calendar.
- Hebrew calendar
- Chinese calendar
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Solar calendar."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
People have worshiped the Sun and Gods who represent the Sun for all of recorded history. Hence, many beliefs and legends have been formed around this worship. Sun gods are generally (though not always) male, and usually the brother, father, husband and/or enemy of the lunar deity (usually female). They were often gods of truth, honesty, virtue, prophecy, intellect and fertility.Solar Deities
Aztec mythology
- Abenaki mythology
- Kee-zos-en
- Aboriginal mythology
- Gnowee
- Walo
- Wuriupranili
- Yhi
- Ainu mythology
- Chup Kamui
- Akkadian mythology
- Samas
- Algonquin mythology
- Michabo
- Armenian mythology
- Mihr
- Arthurian mythology
- Gawain
- Huitzilopochtli
- Ipalnemohuani
- Tonatiuh
Bakairi mythology
- Evaki
Basque mythology
- Ekhi
Byelorussian mythology
- Iarilo
Canaanite mythology
- Moloch
Celtic mythology
- Crom Cruach
- Cuchulainn
- Etain
- Lugh
- Mog Ruith
Chinese mythology
- Shen Yi
Egyptian mythology
- Duamutef
- Hapi
- Horus
- Imset
- Kebechsenef
- Khepri
- Ra
Etruscan mythology
- Cautha
Greek mythology
- Apollo
- Helios
- Hyperion
Hattic mythology
- Wurusemu
Hinduism
- Agni
- Ansa
- Aryman
- Bhaga
- Daksha
- Dhanvantari
- Dhatar
- Dhatri
- Indra
- Mitra
- Ravi
- Rhibus
- Savitr
- Surya
- Varuna
- Vivasvat
- Yama
Hittite mythology
- Arinna
Hungarian mythology
- Napkirály
Ibo mythology
- Chuku
Incan mythology
- Inti
- Manco Capac I
- Punchau
Inuit mythology
- Akycha (Alaska)
- Malina
Japanese mythology
- Amateratsu
- Marisha-Ten
Jewish mythology
- Samson (suggested origin of the story)
Kachin mythology
- Jan
Korean mythology
- Haemosu
- Palk
Lakota mythology
- Wi
Latvian mythology
- Saule
Maya mythology
- Ahau-Kin
- Ah Kin
- K'in
- Kinich Ahau
- Kinich Kakmo
- Hun-Apu
Moabite mythology
- Chemosh
Navajo mythology
- Tsohanoai
Norse mythology
- Alfrodull
- Freyr
- Sol
Ossetian mythology
- Wasterzhi
Palmarene mythology
- Malakbel
- Yarhibol
Papuan mythology
- Dudugera
Pawnee mythology
- Shakuru
Phoenician mythology
- Saps
Persian mythology
- Mithras
Polynesian mythology
- Maelare
- Raa
- Tama Nui-Te-Ra
Pueblo mythology
- Tawa
Roman mythology
- Apollo
- Sol
Russian mythology
- Iarilo
- Khors
Sarmatian mythology
- Khursun
Scythian mythology
- Khursun
Seneca mythology
- Kaakwha
Slavic mythology
- Seran mythology
- Tuwale
- Shinto
- Amateratsu
- Sioux mythology
- Wi
- Byelobog
- Dabog
- Khors
- Svarog
Sumerian mythology
- Shamash
- Uhubapút
Sumu mythology
- Udó
See also Phoenix, Stonehenge
- Tarascan mythology
- Curicaberis
- Tupinamba mythology
- Meri
- Ukrainian mythology
- Iarilo
Chinese Mythology
Unlike in many other culture, Chinese people do not personify nor worship the Sun or the Moon. The most likely reason is the heavy influence of Taoism and I Ching in Chinese culture because the Moon represents Yin and the Sun represent Yang which are the basis of everything in nature.
In Chinese mythology (cosmology), there were nine suns in the sky in the beginning. The world was so hot that nothing grew. A hero called Hou Yi (后毅) shot down eight of them with bow and arrows. The world became better ever since. In another myth, solar eclipse was caused by the dog of heaven biting off a piece of the sun. There was a tradition in China to hit pots and pans during a solar eclipse to drive away the "dog".
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Solar Deity."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A solar eclipse is an eclipse occurring when the Sun, Moon and Earth are on a single line, the Moon being in the middle. Seen from the Earth, the Moon is in front of the Sun and thus part or all of the light of the Sun is hidden by the Moon. Thus it may seem that a piece has been taken out of the Sun, or that it has suddenly disappeared. There are three types of solar eclipses:
Solar eclipses can only happen during the new moon phase.
- A partial solar eclipse: Only part of the Sun and the Moon overlap
- A total solar eclipse: All of the Sun is hidden by the Moon
- A ring-formed or annular eclipse: Sometimes the Moon's umbra does not reach the Earth's surface. This can happen if the Moon is near apogee. This is similar to a penumbral eclipse. During an annular eclipse, a ring of the Sun can still be seen around the Moon. The Moon's shadow umbra often fails to reach the Earth.
Warning: Never look at the Sun directly, even during an eclipse. To do so can cause retinal damage and affect one's eyesight. Always use protection, such as welder's glasses, that are recommended for the extreme brightness of the sun, or view the image of the Sun indirectly on, say, a piece of paper, using a simple pinhole camera. Sunglasses are not sufficient!
Total and annular eclipses both occur when the Moon lines up with the Sun exactly, but since the Moon's orbit is not perfectly circular it is sometimes farther away from Earth and doesn't always cover the entire solar disc from an Earthly vantage point.
(Photo taken by John Walker during the Zambia 2001 eclipse)A solar eclipse can only be seen in a band across the Earth as the Moon's shadow moves across its surface, while a total or annular eclipse is actually total or ring-formed in only a small band within this band (the eclipse path), and partial elsewhere (total eclipse takes place where the umbra of the Moon's shadow falls, whereas a partial eclipse is visible where the penumbra falls). The full band is generally around 100 km across. The eclipse path will be widest if the Moon happens to be at perigee, in which case the eclipse path alone can reach 270 km in diameter.
Total solar eclipses are rare. Total solar eclipse can usually be seen from an area, for only a few moments. The Moon's umbra moves eastward at over 1700 km per hour. Totality can never last more than 7 1/2 minutes. Typically, totality lasts for a much shorter period of time.
For astronomers, a total solar eclipse forms a rare opportunity to watch the corona, the outer layer of the Sun. Normally this is not visible because the light of the Sun overshines the corona.
Calculating the Date of a Solar Eclipse
If you know the date and time of a (solar) eclipse, you can predict other eclipses using eclipse cycles. The saros and inex are well-know eclipse cycles.
Historical Solar Eclipses
Herodotus wrote that Thales of Milete predicted an eclipse which occurred during a war between Medians and Lydians. Soldiers on both sides put down their weapons and declared to peace as a result of the eclipse. Exactly which eclipse was involved has remained uncertain, although the issue has been studied by hundreds of ancient and modern authorities. One likely candidate took place on May 28, 585 BC, probably near the Halys river, in the middle of modern Turkey.
April 16, 1178 BC, a real total eclipse of the sun took place at Ithaca Greek island, about four years after the end of the Trojan War. Homer XIV, 151 states that at the failing of the old moon and the coming of the new shall Odysseus return to his home, and take vengeance on the suitors of Penelope. Homer addas (XX, 356-357 and 390) that the sun vanished out of heaven and an evil gloom had covered all things about the hour of the midday meal, during the celebration of new moon.
February 17, 478 BC: a real eclipse of the sun occurred at Sardis, when Xerxes was departing for his expedition against Greece, as Herodotus, VII, 37 recorded. (Hind and Chambers, 1889: 323 have considered this absolute date more than a century ago.) During the next year, another solar eclipse was observed in Sparta. It took place on August 1, 477 BC, says Herodotus IX, 10 and VIII, 131, and IX, 1. The sky suddenly darkened in the middle of the sky, well after the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis, after the departure of Mardonius to Thessaly at the beginning of the spring (477 BC) and his second attack on Athens, after the return of Cleombrotus to Sparta. Note that the modern conventional dates are different by a year or two, and these two eclipse records have been ignored so far.
A new study claims that the Varronian date is superseded. Its correctness have not been proved scientifically but it is used worldwide. The foundation of Rome took place 437 years after the capture of Troy (1182 BCE), according to Velleius Paterculus (VIII, 5). It took place shortly before an eclipse of the Sun that was observed at Rome on June 25, 745 BC and had a magnitude of 50.3%. Its beginning occurred at 16:38, its middle at 17:28, and its end at 18:16. Varro may have used the consular list with its mistakes, and called the year of the first consuls "245 ab urbe condita" (a.u.c.).
According to Lucius Tarrutius of Firmum, Romulus was conceived in the womb on the 23rd day of the Egyptian month Choiac, at the time of a total eclipse of the Sun. (This eclipse occurred on June 15, 763 BCE, with a magnitude of 62.5% at Rome. Its beginning took place at 6:49, its middle at 7:47 and its end at 8:51.) He was born on the 21st day of the month Thoth. The first day of Thoth fell on March 2 in that year (Prof. E.J. Bickerman, 1980: 115). It means that Rhea Silvia's pregnancy lasted for 281 days. Rome was founded on the ninth day of the month Pharmuthi, which was the 21st of April, as universally agreed. The Romans add that about the time Romulus started to build the city, an eclipse of the Sun was observed by Antimachus, the Teian poet, on the 30th day of the lunar month. This eclipse (see above) had a magnitude of 54.6% at Teos, Asia Minor. It started at 17:49 it was still eclipsed at sunset, at 19:20. Romulus vanished in the 54th year of his life, on the Nones of Quintilis (July), on a day when the Sun was darkened. The day turned into night, which sudden darkness was believed to be an eclipse of the Sun. It occurred on July 17, 709 BC, with a magnitude of 93.7%, beginning at 5:04 and ending at 6:57. (All these eclipse data have been calculated by Prof. Aurél Ponori-Thewrewk, retired director of the Planetarium of Budapest.) Plutarch placed it in the 37th year from the foundation of Rome, on the fifth of our July, then called Quintilis, on "Caprotine Nones," Livy (I, 21) also states that Romulus ruled for 37 years. He was slain by the senate or disappeared in the 38th year of his reign. Most of these have been recorded by Plutarch (Lives of Romulus, Numa Pompilius and Camillus), Florus (Book I, I), Cicero (The Republic VI, 22: Scipio's Dream), Dio (Dion) Cassius and Dionysius of Halicarnassus (L. 2). Dio in his Roman History (Book I) confirms this data by telling that Romulus was in his 18th year of age whan he had founded Rome. Therefore, three eclipse records prove that Romulus reigned from 746 to 709 BCE.
See also: eclipse, lunar eclipse
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Solar eclipse."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Solar power is tapped directly from the sun; which has an intensity on a clear day of 1,000 W / m2 on the ground with the sun directly overhead.
Direct Solar Power
There are two types of solar power: solar thermal power and photovoltaic power.Solar thermal energy. Solar heating helps heat buildings and provide economic hot water . Just a few south-facing windows with summer-shading can substantially reduce heating bills in the winter, without overheating a building in the summer.
Invented by Horace de Saussure, a Swiss naturalist experimenting as early as 1767, a solar box cooker traps the sun's power in an insulated box; for cooking, pasteurization and fruit canning.
A solar thermal power plant has a system of mirrors to concentrate the sunlight on to an absorber, the energy then being used to drive turbines or a thermocouple. The concentrator is usually a parabolic mirror in the form of a dish or long trough, oriented so as to track the Sun's path through the day. The absorber is located at the focal point and converts the solar radiation to heat (about 400°C) which is transferred into a fluid such as synthetic oil or sulfur. The fluid drives a conventional turbine and generator by vaporizing water. Several such installations in modules of 80 MW are now operating. Each module requires about 50 hectares of land and needs very precise engineering and control. These plants are supplemented by a gas-fired boiler which generates about a quarter of the overall power output and keeps them warm overnight. Over 350 MWe capacity worldwide has supplied about 80% of the total solar electricity to the mid 1990s.
An important role of solar energy in the future will be that of direct heating. Much of our energy need is for heat below 60°C - eg. in hot water systems. A lot more, particularly in industry, is for heat in the range 60 - 110°C. Together these may account for a significant proportion of primary energy use in industrialised nations. The first need can readily be supplied by solar power much of the time in some places, and the second application commercially is probably not far off. Such uses will diminish to some extent both the demand for electricity and the consumption of fossil fuels, particularly if coupled with energy conservation measures such as insulation.
With adequate insulation, heat pumps utilising the conventional refrigeration cycle can be used to warm and cool buildings, with very little energy input other than from the sun in some climates ( solar energy absortion machine).
Solar photovoltaic energy. Solar cells convert sunlight to electricity using the photoelectric effect. This is an alternate power method.
Indirect Solar Power
Many other types of power generation are indirectly solar-powered. Plants use photosynthesis to convert solar energy to chemical energy, which can later be burned as fuel to generate electricity; oil and coal originated as plants. Hydroelectric dams and wind turbines also take advantage of the power of the sun to drive weather.Direct electricity generation by solar power has several difficulties; though the sun puts out a vast quantity of energy, that energy is relatively diffuse and intermittent. In Earth orbit, the solar energy flux is about 1300 watts per square meter. Even on a clear day at equatorial noon, this is reduced to about 1000 W/m2 simply by passing through the atmosphere. Sunlight is further attenuated by cloud cover, and interrupted entirely at night. All of this means that solar electric generation inevitably has a low capacity factor, typically less than 15%. Furthermore, converting solar radiation to high grade electricity is still relatively inefficient (typically 12 to 16 percent efficiency, with the maximum efficiency achieved to date being about 30 percent).
Solar cells have been cost-effective for many years for satellites, earthbound signalling and communication equipment, such as remote area telecommunications equipment, off-grid installations such as remote homes and traffic signals, and low power applications like calculators and garden lighting.
In some areas of the U.S., solar electric systems are already competitive with utility systems. The basic cost advantage is that the home-owner does not pay income tax on electric power that is not purchased. As of 2002, there's a list of technical conditions: There must be many sunny days. The systems must sell power to the grid, avoiding battery costs. The solar systems must be inexpensively mass-purchased, which usually means they must be installed at the time of construction. Finally, the region must have high power prices. For example, Southern California has about 260 sunny days a year, making it an excellent venue. It yields about 9%/yr returns of investment when systems are installed at $9/watt (cheap, but feasible), and utility prices are at $0.095 per kilowatt-hour (the current base rate).
For a stand-alone system some means must be employed to store the collected energy during hours of darkness or cloud cover - either as electricity in batteries, or in some other form such as hydrogen (produced by electrolysis of water), flywheels in vacuum, or superconductors. Storage always has an extra stage of energy conversion, with consequent energy losses, greatly increasing capital costs.
Several experimental photovoltaic (PV) power plants of 300 - 500 kW capacity are connected to electricity grids in Europe and USA. Japan has 150 MWe installed. A large solar PV plant is planned for Crete. Research continues into ways to make the actual solar collecting cells less expensive and more efficient. Other major research is investigating economic ways to store the energy which is collected from the sun's rays during the day.
Solar not nuclear is a catch-cry of both antinuclear environmental groups and many technological optimists, particularly as advances in direct solar heating continue to be made.
See also autonomous building, renewable energy.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Solar power."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
simple:SunSee Sun (disambiguation) for other meaning of the word "Sun"
Sun (Sol) larger image Observation data Mean distance from Earth 150,000,000 km
(93,000,000 mi)Visual brightness (V) -26.8m Absolute magnitude 4.8m Physical characteristics Diameter 1,392,000 km Relative diameter (dS/dE) 109 Surface area 6.09 × 1012 km2 Volume 1.41 × 1027 m3 Mass 1.9891 × 1030 kgRelative mass to Earth 333,400 Density 1411 kg m-3 Relative density to Earth 0.26 Relative density to water 1.409 Surface gravity 274 m s-2 Relative surface gravity 27.9 g Surface temperature 5780 K Temperature of corona 5 × 106 K Luminosity (LS) 3.827 × 1026 J s-1 Orbital characteristics Period of rotation At equator: 27d 6h 36m At 30° latitude: 28d 4h 48m At 60° latitude: 30d 19h 12m At 75° latitude: 31d 19h 12m Period of orbit around
galactic centre2.2 × 108 years Photospheric composition Hydrogen 73.46 % Helium 24.85 % Oxygen 0.77 % Carbon 0.29 % Iron 0.16 % Neon 0.12 % Nitrogen 0.09 % Silicon 0.07 % Magnesium 0.05 % Sulphur 0.04 % The Sun, sometimes called Sol, is the star in our solar system. The planet Earth and all of her sister planets, both the other terrestrial planets and the gas giants, orbit the Sun. Other bodies that orbit the Sun include asteroids, meteoroids, comets, Trans-Neptunian objects, and, of course, dust.
Physical and other characteristics
The Sun is a main sequence star, with a spectral class of G2, meaning that it is somewhat bigger and hotter than the average star but far smaller than a red giant star. A G2 star has a main sequence lifetime of about 10 billion years, and the Sun is probably about 5 billion years old, as determined by nucleocosmochronology.
At the center of the Sun, where its density is 1.5 × 105 kg m-3, thermonuclear reactions (nuclear fusion) convert hydrogen into helium. 3.9 × 1045 atoms undergo nuclear reactions there every second. This releases energy which escapes from the surface of the Sun as light. Physicists are able to replicate thermonuclear reactions with hydrogen bombs. Sustained nuclear fusion on earth for electricity generation may be possible in the future, with nuclear fusion reactors.
All matter in the Sun is in the form of plasma due to its extreme temperature. This makes it possible for the sun to rotate faster at its equator than it does at higher latitudes, since the Sun is not a solid body. The differential rotation of the Sun's latitudes causes its magnetic field lines to become twisted together over time, causing magnetic field loops to erupt from the sun's surface and trigger the formation of the Sun's dramatic sunspots and solar prominences.
The corona has 1011 atoms/m3, and the photosphere has 1023 atoms/m3.
For some time it was thought that the number of neutrinos produced by the nuclear reaction in the Sun was only one third of the number predicted by theory, a result that was termed the solar neutrino problem. When it was recently found that neutrinos had mass, and could therefore transform into harder-to-detect varieties of neutrinos while en route from the Sun to Earth, measurement and theory were reconciled.
To obtain an uninterrupted view of the Sun, the European Space Agency and NASA cooperatively launched the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) on December 2, 1995.
Observation of the Sun can reveal such phenomena as:
Caution: looking directly at the sun can damage the retina and one's eyesight.
- Sunspots
- Faculae
- Solar flares
- Solar prominences
- quiescent prominences
- eruptive prominences
- Coronal mass ejection
The astronomical symbol for the sun is the circumpunct.
Large solar flare recorded by SOHO EIT304 instrument. 512x512 version. Animation (980kMPEG). Courtesy SOHO(ESA&NASA)
See also:
- Solar radiation
- Solar energy
- Solar wind
- Aurora borealis
- Aurora australis
- Photosphere
- Chromosphere
- Corona
- Airglow
- Eclipse
- Timeline of solar astronomy
- Sun mythology
- Daystar
The Solar SystemSun - Mercury - Venus - Earth - Mars - Asteroids - Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune - Pluto - Comets - Kuiper belt - Oort cloud
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Sun."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
SOLAR | English | Shared On-Line Airline Reservations | Computing |
| SOFAS | English | Swiss Solar Industry Association | Electrical Engineering |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Furnace | Oil burner, gas burner, Franklin stove, pot-bellied stove; wood-burning stove; central heating, steam heat, hot water heat, gas heat, forced hot air, electric heat, heat pump; solar heat, convective heat. |
Power | Pressure; conductivity; elasticity; gravity, electricity, magnetism, galvanism, voltaic electricity, voltaism, electromagnetism; atomic power, nuclear power, thermonuclear power; fuel cell; hydraulic power, water power, hydroelectric power; solar power, solar energy, solar panels; tidal power; wind power; attraction; vis inertiae, vis mortua, vis viva; potential energy, dynamic energy; dynamic friction, dynamic suction; live circuit, live rail, live wire. |
World | Sun, orb of day, Apollo, Phoebus; photosphere, chromosphere; solar system; planet, planetoid; comet; satellite, moon, orb of night, Diana, silver-footed queen; aerolite, meteor; planetary ring; falling star, shooting star; meteorite, uranolite. |
Solar, heliacal; lunar; celestial, heavenly, sphery; starry, stellar; sidereal, sideral; astral; nebular; uranic. | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | -- give the Solar System an enema, that's where they stick the tube in. We've heard that one (Saturn 3; writing credit: Martin Amis; John Barry) Saturn 3. When they want to give the Solar System -- (Saturn 3; writing credit: Martin Amis; John Barry) Now that's what I call solar power (The Man with the Golden Gun; writing credit: Richard Maibaum) I distinctly remember sitting here, listening to Carter prattle on about solar activity and a corona something (Stargate SG-1; writing credit: Robert C. Cooper; Brad Wright) As I am sure most of you will know, a solar eclipse occurs as a result of the interposition of the Moon between the Earth and the Sun. (The Day the Earth Caught Fire; writing credit: Wolf Mankowitz; Val Guest) | |
Lyrics | Not as far the solar bear (Let there be more light; performing artist: Pink Floyd) There's a new planet in the solar system (The Great Beyond; performing artist: R.E.M.) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Un Día en el solar (1965) O Solar das Almas Perdidas (1957) The Solar System (1950) Tre solar (2003) Solar Plexus (1998) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
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Books |
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Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
![]() | Solar System Montage. Credit: NASA. | ![]() | Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Preparations. Credit: NASA. |
The Hubble Space Telescope is hot on the trail of a puzzling new class of solar system object ... Credit: NASA. | Looming like a giant flying saucer in our outer solar system, Saturn puts on a show as the ... Credit: NASA. | ||
![]() | NASA diagram of how the frames for the Solar System Family Portrait were taken. Credit: NASA. | ![]() | Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during the STS 61 flightThe new solar arrays are seen here from the aft flight deck, backlit against the black background of space. Credit: NASA. |
Surface Solar Irradiance from NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Credit: NASA. | ![]() | Solar System. Credit: NASA. | |
![]() | Solar telescope tower at South Pole Station. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. | ![]() | Australian Department of Science and U.S. Air Force Solar and Radio Observatory at Learmonth. Looking east. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Solar eclipse" by Ewald Brunmüller Commentary: "Solar eclipse seen through morning-fog in summer 2003." | "Solar cells" by Ced Dec Commentary: "Solar cells." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Solar flares (sunspots) also alter the amount of UVR reaching the Earth. (references) | |
Some UVA lamps generate greater than 5 times more UVA per unit time than solar UVA radiation reaching the Earth's surface at the Equator. (references) | ||
When solar flares are inactive, there is a decrease in the ozone concentration, allowing increased UVB to penetrate to the Earth's surface. (references) | ||
Business | BP Solar is the dominant company in the UK market. (references) | |
The U.S. has traditionally been a strong supplier of solar technologies. (references) | ||
Greece is ideally located for harnessing solar, wind and geothermal energy. (references) | ||
Economic History | Kenya | The country depends on imported solar panels. (references) |
Netherlands | Per year, a solar boiler saves about 200 cubic meters of natural gas. (references) | |
Yemen | Many of Yemen's rural areas are perfect for solar or wind generators. (references) | |
Political Economy | GREECE | Greece, which restricted foreign and domestic private investment in public utilities (with the exception of cellular telephony and energy from renewable sources, e.g. wind and solar), has recently opened its telecommunications market and has plans to gradually liberalize its energy sector. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | New institutions have been established such as the Synthetic Fuels Corporation and Solar Bank. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Solar" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 96.13% of the time. "Solar" is used about 1,318 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 96.13% | 1,267 | 6,202 |
| Noun (proper) | 3.79% | 50 | 48,117 |
| Noun (common) | 0.08% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 1,318 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "solar" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Solar | Last name | 1,000 | 13,917 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| Country | Name |
| Denmark | Aktieselskabet Nordisk Solar Compagni |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "solar": bank of solar cells ♦ deployable solar array ♦ Golden Light Solar Meditation ♦ High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager ♦ incident solar radiation ♦ mean solar day ♦ mean solar time ♦ Principal or Solar ♦ Solar Activity ♦ solar apex ♦ solar architecture ♦ solar array ♦ solar battery ♦ solar calculator ♦ solar calendar ♦ solar cell ♦ solar cell array ♦ solar cell panel ♦ solar collector ♦ solar concentrator ♦ solar constant ♦ solar cycle ♦ solar day ♦ solar diode ♦ solar eclipse ♦ solar ecliptic limit ♦ solar energy ♦ solar engine ♦ solar flare ♦ solar flowers ♦ solar focus ♦ solar gravity ♦ solar greenhouse ♦ solar halo ♦ solar heat ♦ solar heater ♦ solar heating ♦ solar herpes ♦ solar hour ♦ solar house ♦ solar irradiation ♦ solar lamp ♦ solar magnetic field ♦ solar microscope ♦ solar month ♦ solar myth ♦ solar oil ♦ solar orbit ♦ solar oriented architecture ♦ solar panel ♦ solar parallax ♦ solar phosphori ♦ solar physics ♦ solar plexus ♦ solar pond ♦ solar power ♦ solar prominence ♦ solar prominences ♦ solar proton event ♦ solar protuberances ♦ solar radiation ♦ solar sail ♦ solar spectrum ♦ solar spots ♦ solar system ♦ solar telegraph ♦ solar telescope ♦ solar tide ♦ solar time ♦ solar trap ♦ solar valve ♦ solar wall ♦ solar water heater ♦ solar wind ♦ solar wind spectrometer ♦ solar year ♦ the solar system. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "solar": solar-cycle-length, solar-flare, solar-forcing-alone, solar-gain, solar-generated, solar-imperial, solar-mass, solar-pond, solar-powered, solar-produced, solar-reflective, solar-type, solar-wind. | |
Ending with "solar": luni-solar. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
solar system | 5,780 | solar battery charger | 224 |
solar eclipse | 2,090 | solar garden light | 170 |
solar | 1,840 | planet of the solar system | 169 |
solar panel | 1,586 | solar oven | 160 |
solar power | 1,459 | solar cover reel | 156 |
solar energy | 1,413 | solar wind | 148 |
solar light | 955 | swimming pool solar cover | 142 |
sistema solar | 723 | solar home | 134 |
solar pool cover | 676 | solar outdoor lighting | 129 |
solar pool heater | 572 | solar blanket | 129 |
solar cell | 543 | solar pump | 123 |
solar system picture | 474 | solar pool heating | 120 |
energia solar | 433 | our solar system | 115 |
solar cover | 354 | solar heater | 113 |
solar lighting | 351 | solar attic fan | 112 |
solar fountain | 303 | solar tube | 110 |
solar flare | 302 | solar collector | 107 |
solar screen | 290 | solar charger | 107 |
solar water heater | 230 | solar water pump | 107 |
solar heating | 226 | solar heat | 105 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "solar"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | i diellit, diellor. (various references) | |
Arabic | كسوف (eclipse, occultation), شمسي (heliacal). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | солариум (solarium), слънчев (fine, heliacal, sunny). (various references) | |
Chinese | 太阳 (sun). (various references) | |
Czech | sluneèní (heliacal). (various references) | |
Danish | straaleformet (radial, radiate), straaleagtig (radial, radiate), solaris, sol- (helio), udstraalende (radial, radiate). (various references) | |
Dutch | uitstralend (radial, radiate), radiatus (radial, radiate, radiatus). (various references) | |
Farsi | وابسته بخورشید, خورشیدی . (various references) | |
Finnish | auringon (of the sun). (various references) | |
French | solaire. (various references) | |
German | Sonnen-. (various references) | |
Greek | ηλιακόσ (heliacal), ηλιακός. (various references) | |
Hebrew | שמשי (sunny), סולרי. (various references) | |
Hungarian | nap- (day, helio-). (various references) | |
Indonesian | mentari (sun), matahari (sol, sun). (various references) | |
Italian | solare (sun, sunlight). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 太陽 (sun), 太陽 (sun), ソーダ石灰 (saute, Seoul, soap, soarer, social worker, society, socket, socks, Socrates, soda lime, solar system, sonata, sort, sortie, sorting, soul, sword, Turkish baths associated with prostitution). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | たいよう (important point, ocean, outline, situation, summary, sun, terms), ソーラー . (various references) | |
Korean | 태양. (various references) | |
Manx | niart ny greiney (solar power), lossan greiney (solar flare), corys ny greiney (solar system), chiass greiney (solar heat), blein ny greiney (solar year). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | olarsay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | solar (barton, manor, mansion, mansion-house, resole). (various references) | |
Romanian | solar (sun), de soare. (various references) | |
Russian | солнечный (heliacal, shiny, sunny, sunshiny). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | sunčev (heliacal), solarni. (various references) | |
Spanish | solar (building lot, building site, floor, land lot, lot, plot, sandlot, site, sun). (various references) | |
Swedish | sol-, sol (Soh, Sol, sun). (various references) | |
Thai | เกี่ยวกับดวงอาทิตย์. (various references) | |
Turkish | solar, güneş (Daystar, helio-, sun, sunshine). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | сонячний (heliac, heliacal, shiny, sunny). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | solaris. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "solar": solaria, solarise, solarised, solarises, solarising, solarism, solarisms, solarium, solariums, solarization, solarizations, solarize, solarized, solarizes, solarizing. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "solar": antisolar, lunisolar, nonsolar, subsolar. (additional references) | |
| |
"Solar" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Asola, isolar, kolar, Lollar, Olar, ollar, Oslac, osleri, salar, Sclar, scola, scolaire, scolar, scoler, sellar, selra, shofar, sholar, Silar, Sillar, Sillard, Sillari, slar, sloa, sload, sloag, Slokar, slonar, sloor, sodar, sofar, solai, solair, solaire, solara, solard, solare, solarg, solari, solark, solarm, solarn, solaro, solarp, solars, solart, solat, solgar, solih, solir, solla, solor, solorn, soltar, solur, somar, Somlak, soral, sowar, Stoleru, Suliard, tolar, Zohar. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "solar" (pronounced sō"ler) |
| 3 | -ō" l er | bipolar, bolar, bowler, Comptroller, controller, polar, roller, Stroller, tolar, Toller. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: orals. | |
| Words within the letters "a-l-o-r-s" | |
-1 letter: also, lars, oars, oral, osar, soar, sola, sora. | |
-2 letters: als, ars, lar, las, oar, ora, ors, ras, sal, sol. | |
-3 letters: al, ar, as, la, lo, or, os, so. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-l-o-r-s" | |
+1 letter: algors, argols, borals, carols, claros, corals, dorsal, floras, gorals, labors, largos, lorans, molars, morals, parols, polars, royals, safrol, sailor, salvor, sporal, tolars, valors. | |
+2 letters: aerosol, alastor, areolas, areoles, arousal, bailors, barlows, borstal, bromals, carolus, chorals, clamors, claroes, coalers, collars, corrals, dollars, dorsals, escolar, flavors, florals, formals, galores, gaolers, girasol, glamors, glorias, goorals, harlots, holards, jailors, labours, ladrons, lardons, lassoer, loaders, loafers, loaners, morales, mortals, morulas, normals, oarless, oculars, ooralis, oracles, oralism, oralist, ordeals, oscular, osmolar, pallors, parasol, parlors, parlous, paroles, patrols, poplars, portals, prolans, pyrolas, recoals, reloads, reloans, reposal, rialtos, robalos, roseola, rostral, rugolas, safrole, safrols, sailors, salvors, scholar, scrotal, serosal, shoaler, solacer, solaria, sororal, squalor, stromal, suboral, sudoral, tailors, torulas, valours. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Quotations: Speeches 10. Usage Frequency 11. Names: Frequency 12. Names: Company Usage | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Abbreviations 18. Acronyms 19. Derivations 20. Rhymes | 21. Anagrams 22. Bibliography |
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