photovoltaic
adjective
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Sunshine and Photovoltaic
The -voltaic part of photovoltaic comes from the name of Alessandro Volta, inventor of the electric battery. Thus, unlike photoelectric cells, which use electricity for certain small tasks, photovoltaic (or PV) cells actually produce electricity. Solar cells, the standard type of photovoltaic cells (often called simply photocells), operate without chemicals and with no moving parts to create energy directly from sunlight. Much research is now being done on creating an alternative technology—solar film, which could be stuck onto almost any surface, or possibly even sprayed on.
Examples of photovoltaic in a Sentence
IEEE Spectrum, 9 May 2024
The market works best when the rules are not changed midstream, which is what happened here, after many homeowners had already invested in a solar photovoltaic system and calculated payback.
—Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for photovoltaic 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'photovoltaic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Photovoltaic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/photovoltaic. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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