photovoltaic

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adjective pho·to·vol·ta·ic \ˌfō-tō-väl-ˈtā-ik, -vōl-\

Definition of photovoltaic

: of, relating to, or utilizing the generation of a voltage when radiant energy falls on the boundary between dissimilar substances (such as two different semiconductors)

photovoltaic

noun

Recent Examples of photovoltaic from the Web

China is now the leading purveyor of photovoltaic cells and wind turbines.

— robinson meyer, The Atlantic, "Avoiding Two Degrees of Warming 'Is Now Totally Unrealistic'", 3 June 2017
The lack of new projects is threatening the supply chain, and has the potential to leave wind-turbine factories empty and drag down the country’s nascent photovoltaic industry.

— vanessa dezem, Bloomberg.com, "Brazil Plots Steady Clean-Energy Course Amid Political Turmoil", 2 June 2017
And of course, photovoltaic panels have electricity coursing through them.

— dino grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: We may be saying au revoir to Paris climate accord", 31 May 2017
Their device uses a photovoltaic panel to split the water into oxygen and hydrogen and then feeds the hydrogen to the microbes, which convert CO2 from the air into fuels such as alcohol.

— dan falk, NBC News, "Can ‘Bionic Leaf’ Solve Our Climate, Energy Problems?", 30 May 2017
Iridescent photovoltaic-paint roofs became drop zones.

— paolo bacigalupi, Wired News, "Exclusive: Read the First Chapter of Paolo Bacigalupi's New Novel The Water Knife", 27 May 2015
Using less of the expensive photovoltaic material drives the cost of their production down.

— alexis madrigal, WIRED, "Solar Goes From Gardens to Gigabucks", 6 Oct. 2008

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'photovoltaic'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

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.