solar cell

noun

a photovoltaic cell that converts sunlight directly into electricity.

Examples from the web for solar cell

Scientists have invented a plastic solar cell that can turn the sun's power into electrical energy, even on a cloudy day.
solar cell manufacture generates small amounts of hazardous materials, but they generate none during use.
It's the birthplace of the transistor, the laser, the solar cell and the fax machine.
Out of the end comes a new type of solar cell which promises to be both efficient and cheap.
Overall, this is more efficient than a conventional solar cell which converts energy from only part of the spectrum.
Breakthroughs will double solar cell efficiency and wind turbines have grown to six megawatt capacity.
Furthermore, anybody can now become a power producer with a solar cell on their roof.
The device is an advanced solar cell, no bigger than a typical playing card, which is left floating in a pool of water.
Best of all, it has a large solar cell on the back of the unit, so it recharges as long as there is light.
So easy that the feeble current provided by a solar cell can do it.

British Dictionary definitions for solar cell

solar cell

noun

a photovoltaic cell that produces electricity from the sun's rays, used esp in spacecraft

solar cell in Science

solar cell

A photoelectric cell designed to convert sunlight into electrical energy, typically consisting of layers or sheets of specially prepared silicon. Electrons, displaced through the photoelectric effect by the Sun's radiant energy in one layer, flow across a junction to the other layer, creating a voltage across the layers that can provide power to an external circuit. Solar cells are used as power supplies in calculators, satellites, and other devices, and as a primary source of electricity in remote locations.