Photocells and photovoltaic cells?

Question

What are three differences in the structure and operation of photocells and photovoltaic cells?

Answer 1

Structurally, it is common for photocells to be made from cadmium sulfide, and for photovoltaic cells to be made from silicon.

"Photocell" usually means a Light Dependent Resistor (LDR). It's a device whose electrical resistance changes with the amount of light present. Since resistors do not generate a voltage or current by themselves, a separate power supply is required for a photocell to be useful. They are usually used like a switch, to turn a circuit on or off when the amount of light is above or below a preset level.

Photovoltaic cells do generate a voltage or current which increases according to the amount of light present. People are often referring to solar cells, which convert light into electrical power, when they say "photovoltaic cell". A photovoltaic cell may also refer to a photodiode, which outputs a small electrical signal that may be used as a measure of the light level.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

A photocell uses any of several phenomena simply to sense the presence and intensity of light. A photovoltaic cell uses light to generate a useful quantity of electricity. Start at the reference to get an overview of the various kinds.