PHOTON International - What would Alexandre Edmond Becquerel be thinking now? In 1839, at the age of just 19, Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect - the creation of voltage between two electrodes when one of them is exposed to light - later inspiring the imaginations of millions of people worldwide, including legendary scientist Albert Einstein. Still, it took another 115 years before Bell Labs invented the first modern silicon solar cell. By comparison, it's no stretch to say that the solar timeline has rocketed forward at warp speed in recent years, writes Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.