It is possible to convert radiant energy into electrical energy using photovoltaic cells. Assuming equal efficiency of conversion, would infrared or ultraviolet radiation yield more electrical energy on a per-photon basis?

Video transcript

Hey everyone, we're told that solar panels utilize photovoltaic cells in order to convert light energy from sun to usable energy, Assuming that the solar panel converts light energy with 100% efficiency determine which would produce usable energy per photon, x rays or microwaves. To answer this question, let's go ahead and refer to our electromagnetic spectrum. So in terms of our X rays and microwaves, we have our microwaves on the right side of our spectrum, followed by our infrared, followed by our ultraviolet and then followed by our X rays to name a few. And we know that as we go to the left of our spectrum, our energy is going to increase and as we move to the right, our wavelength is going to decrease. In regard to this question. We can see right here that X rays have a higher energy than our microwaves. So our answer here is going to be x rays. So I hope that made sense. And let us know if you have any questions.