The Sun Queen: How Mária Telkes Built the First Solar-Heated House
The Marvelously Inventive Life of Mária Telkes (2023)
Mária Telkes, a Hungarian-born scientist, dedicated her career to harnessing solar energy. She created the world's first solar-heated home using Glauber's salt, a solar still that saved downed WWII pilots, and a $4 solar oven for developing countries. Her practical inventions earned her over 20 patents and the nickname 'Sun Queen'.
“Sunlight will be used as a source of energy sooner or later anyway,” Telkes wrote in a 1951 paper, adding, “Why wait?”