As kids settle in at school this fall, there is a new book that explains solar in the most thorough and easy-to-understand way possible.

SolarWorld, an Oregon-base solar panel manufacturer, released the booklet “Energy for you and Me” free for teachers and parents to download and use in their classrooms or at home. They can download it off the SolarWorld web site.

“We are hoping it will be integrated into the curriculum,” said SolarWorld spokeswoman Devon Cichoski.

The book includes useful and colorful explanations about the science behind how and why solar works, which even a lot of adults might find enlightening. It goes into the history of the solar industry and the evolution of solar panels through the years. It explains efficiency and what’s happening in solar energy science today.

Did you know Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize not for developing the theory of relativity but for explaining the photo-electric effect, the physics underlying solar-electric generation?

That’s one of the cool tidbits included in the book.

Other interesting facts in the book include that “solar-electric generation may be equated to tapping energy from rock” because it uses silicon, the most abundant solid element on Earth. It also explains that solar cells are made with silicon crystals, which are created when silicon is melted at temperatures exceeding 2,500 degrees.

SolarWorld has worked to develop solar education curricula for students in schools that use its technology, many manufacturers and solar installation companies have. But the book goes a step further by offering solar education to anyone who wants to download it off the SolarWorld web site.

“We felt there was a void in material that was clear and understandable for young audiences,” Cichoski said.

The company doesn’t expect to impact its own sales with the product, but aims to offer access to easy-to-follow information about what solar is and how it works so children can “understand the promise of solar.”

“They know fossil fuels are taking a toll on their planet,” SolarWorld president Kevin Kilkelly said in a statement. "As a kind of Solar 101, our new publication will help these future leaders understand how solar energy not only will, but is currently building a clean, green future."