I contributed a chapter to Solar Energy - an encyclopedia meant for young adults and anyone interested in the historical development of solar energy, the science and technology behind it, current challenges in the field and possible solutions to them.
My essay approaches the utility of solar energy for remote and rural areas - a pet topic of mine. It feels warm to have my first ISBN listing, albeit only a chapter!
I received my contributor's copy today. Having thumbed through the rest of the book, I think it has been fabulously put together by Dr. David Newton, the editor. The language is simple yet the content sophisticated enough for everyone from laymen to lawyers to appreciate it.
or if you fancy an e-version, here:
http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Energy-Reference-Handbook-Contemporary/dp/1610696956
http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Energy-Reference-Handbook-Contemporary/dp/1610696956
I remember spending entire afternoons gobbling up encyclopedias through my early teens. Series like Tell Me Why and Childcraft are the reasons I became engrossed in acquiring knowledge of any kind. They made me aware of the world beyond my walls before Wikipedia, they got me interested in a life in science and technology, and they helped me qualify for several quiz competitions in school.
In an age where the internet is chock-a-block with incessant information, I'm hoping Solar Energy serves as a good collation of reading on a particularly relevant topic today. There are even some futuristic, sci-fi-ish chapters before mine about solar roads and artificial photosynthesis. I would have loved this book as a teenager. I hope teens today love it too, and that some of them are inspired to take up solar energy as a career.
