Say, a solar panel is arrayed near enough to a nuclear blast to be bombarded by radiation, but not close enough to be pummeled by the shockwave, could it theoretically reclaim energy from that like it does from the Sun?
photons are photons.
Would being near a nuclear explosion give it more or less energy than the Sun over the same given period? Like, I am thinking far enough that it doesn’t damage the solar panels but otherwise right next to the explosion.
Yes, photons are photons. If the explosion is “brighter” than the sun from where you place the panels, you’ll get more energy from the explosion than the sun. The scare quotes just mean you have to define “brighter” carefully: solar panels collect from a range of frequencies, not just visible light, but a nuclear explosion is likely to be brighter in all of them.