Medals received during school and colleges are the hardest earned and respected medals in the life of an individual. There is immense competition among students to gain academic as well sporting excellence. It a great honor for students to be awarded a medal for academic achievements or excellence in sports.

Academic Medals are not only awarded to school and college students but are given to those who excel in science and technology, engineering, medical sciences and other academic fields. Many people receive medals from the state government or are honored by national governments for breakthrough inventions they have made. The Dannie Heinemann Prize for Mathematical Physics is an important academic medal, as is the American Physical Society award presented by the American Institute of Physics, which is for outstanding lifetime contributions to humankind. Gibbs Brothers Medal -- Naval architecture, Marine engineering is awarded by the National Academy of Sciences.

NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement is given by NASA for those who have shown extraordinary academic excellence. The National Medal of Science is considered a very prestigious medal that is given by President of United States on recommendation of the National Science Foundation. It is awarded to scientists and engineers in behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and physics.

Academic Medals contribute significantly to the portfolio of an individual just like a star on uniforms of law enforcers. Readymade medals are available in gold, silver, and bronze. The price for each medal is around $2.50; that includes a red, white, and blue neck ribbon. Other colors are available as well but at an additional charge. Universities require a large number of academic medals. They award medals to candidates who have qualified for a bachelor degree with first class honors. Those who have attained a Grade Point Average of no less than 4.5* in all but their first year of study are also eligible to receive an academic medal.

Medals provides detailed information on Medals, Custom Medals, Award Medals, Military Medals and more. Medals is affiliated with Baseball Autographs.

The basics of solar power.

Solar power is probably the cleanest, most viable form of renewable energy available and it can be used in several forms to help power your house. Many gardens now use solar lights or solar garden water features. The availability and wide use of solar power in gardens shows exactly how versatile it is as a source of energy. The technology and the systems are becoming smaller, more compact and better looking than when they were first created and used. Early examples of solar power systems can be seen in California where, in the 1980s, enough solar power panels were installed to power over 10 million homes.

How do photovoltaic tiles work?

Simply put photovoltaic tiles and other forms of solar energy work by converting some of the energy in sunlight into a clean form of electricity that can be used in our houses. The PV cells consist of a positive and a negative slice of silicon placed under a thin slice of glass. As the protons of the sunlight beat down onto the PV cell they knock the neutrons off the silicon. The negatively charged free neutrons are attracted to the silicon but are trapped by the magnetic field that is formed from the opposing fields. Small wires on the silicon catch these neutrons and when connected in a circuit an electric current is formed.

This reaction gives Direct Current electricity though, and it must be passed through an inverter to be converted into an Alternating Current used in our homes to power any electrical items. Some of the power is lost in this part of the process as the inverter is only around 95% efficient but this is a much greater efficiency than was once available.

The nature of the PV cell means there is little or no maintenance required and there are no moving parts; this means that a typical PV cell can last up to 40 years with no work besides an annual clean.

How can I use them to power my house?

There are several ways to use solar power around the house and not just for powering. You can use it to heat your hot water, heat your pool or even your central heating or if you have plenty of roof space and a reasonable amount of sun you can get a grid tie system; a grid tie system means that not only can you power your entire house but during those times when you create an excess of electricity you can sell it back to the grid. An efficiently solar powered home will be able to reasonably create between 75 and 100% of their own power and because of the grid tie system this means you may not have to pay for electricity ever again.

For more more information about solar power please visit http://www.solar-power-energy.info