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Posts with tag thermoelectric

Another team figures out how to convert waste heat into energy

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 25th 2008 at 12:56PM


Not that mad scientists haven't figured out a way to convert waste heat into energy, but a team from Ohio State University has developed a new material that does the same sort of thing... just way, way better. The new material goes by the name thallium-doped lead telluride, and at least in theory, it could actually convert exhaust heat from vehicles into electricity. According to a new report about to hit the journal Science, the material packs "twice the efficiency of anything currently on the market," though it still seems as if it's a good ways out from being ready for commercial applications. Nanotechnology geeks -- you've got a real treat waiting in the read link.

[Via CNET]

Researchers hope to charge up gadgetry with body heat

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 21st 2008 at 3:35PM


We've heard of firms tinkering with the idea of converting excess heat directly to energy, and apparently, a team of scientists from the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have done just that. Oddly enough, the researchers admit that they're still unclear on how their findings actually work, but they've nevertheless discovered how to increase the conversion efficiency of converting waste heat to energy "by a factor of 100." The authors of the report suggest that clothing constructed of material embedded with thermoelectric modules could one day "recharge mobile electronic devices off the heat of one's body," and while we're certainly stoked about the idea, we're already conjuring up awful images in our minds about what this garb will actually look like.

[Via textually, image courtesy of FourEyesJokeShop]

Nextreme crafts thermoelectric module for microscopic cooling

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 16th 2008 at 12:32PM


It's been a tick since anyone 'round these parts has taken Peltier cooling seriously, but sure enough, North Carolina-based Nextreme Thermal Solutions is giving us reason to spark that conversation up once more. Its Ultra-High Packing Fraction (UPF) OptoCooler module utilizes "thin-film thermal bump technology at its core," essentially enabling it to be "integrated directly into electronic and optoelectronic packaging to deliver more than 45°C of cooling." Initially, the outfit hopes to have its product embedded within LED packages to "control temperatures and maintain proper operating conditions," and while we'd certainly be more awestruck if these were headed straight for microprocessors of some sort, we've all ideas Nextreme's already working on that endeavor.

[Via Slashdot]

Body powered circuits developed by Fraunhofer Institute

by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 17th 2007 at 9:06AM


Our favorite German researchers over at the Fraunhofer Institute have developed "entire electronic systems" capable of operating battery-free from body heat alone. The picture above shows a wireless transmitter powered by the human hand. The 200 millivolts required to drive the device is supplied by a thermoelectric generator (TEG) which extracts electrical energy from hot and a cold temperature differentials of just a few degrees Celsius. Of course, the application processor alone in modern handhelds requires about 1W to operate so 2mW is a long way off from powering our portable electronics. Still, progress is progress.
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