While we may never power our cars with mousetraps, there have been many innovations in what types of power we do utilize. One that continues to fascinate inventors is solar energy -- which is not as recent as most think.

The first patent for a solar-powered vehicle was created in the 1860's by French teacher and inventor Augustin Mouchot.

In the 1800's the trains that France depended on ran from steam created by burning wood or coal. Mouchot believed there was a way to harness energy from the sun to make steam and allow for a less costly, unlimited fuel for trains.

One of his most successful inventions was unveiled at Napoleon III's Great Exhibition of 1867. This exhibition was a celebration to showcase all of the most modern technologies from around the world. Many attendees were amazed at inventions such as the rocking chair sent from America or products from Britain made out of a newly-utilized lightweight metal -- aluminum. A huge crowd gathered at Mouchot's "solar engine" device. It had a huge light-capturing apparatus that could generate enough steam to power a small engine. In his book, The Power of Light: The Epic Story of Man's Quest to Harness the Sun, Frank Kryza said of the device, "When Mouchot put it on display, the reaction was one of stupefied amazement -- a motor that ran without fuel, on nothing more than sunbeams! It struck observers as bizarre --even magical."

Mouchot won a first place medal at the exhibition and received funding from Napoleon himself to continue his work. Through the years he refined his ability to power engines with solar energy by inventing ways to concentrate solar heat and capturing it in a glass globe. By combining these two concepts, his devices became smaller and more efficient.

While the use of Mouchot's devices never became widespread, he discovered many other ways to help others with his inventions. He created a solar cooking device and a way to distill water with solar energy. These inventions were used by French and others in need of clean water and power.

In his years of experimenting with solar energy, he came across many obstacles, but never gave up his belief that his idea was plausible. He struggled with size and practicality of his inventions, pessimism of others, funding, and even war. Through all of it, he continued his work and many of his theories and inventions paved the way for future developments. Even today, scientists continue to innovate the use of solar power with his ideas.

As the world changes, surely the energy we use for transportation will also have to evolve. Fortunately, there will be many more great minds interested in vehicle power that are wellprepared to take on this challenge!