Semiconductors to generate electricity

Scientist has discovered more efficient way to generate electricity based on proven theory of dissimilar metals property of electron flow.

Gone would be the noisy compressors, the environmentally dubious coolants, and the dust bunnies under the cooling coils. Instead, says the chemistry professor at Michigan State University, the unit would rely on electricity flowing through specially designed semiconductors to keep the inside of the icebox chilled. Those same semiconductors also could be used to convert wasted heat in auto exhaust pipes, power-plant smokestacks, or other sources into valuable electricity.


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In principle, if semiconductors can be formed with sufficiently high ZTs, it might be possible to build self-powering devices or to augment electricity.

More immediately, it may be possible to wring more electricity out of every ton of coal, cubic foot of gas, or barrel of oil burned. If 10 percent of that energy could be harnessed using semiconductors to convert heat to electricity, it could outstrip the contribution from the renewables, he says.

If this were brought to fruition and marketed imagine how much less dependent we would be on oil.

[Edited on 6-2-2004 by Phoenix]

"If two wires are joined at each end to form a closed loop, and one joint is subjected to a higher or lower temperature than the other, a current will flow through the loop. These traits were first discovered in the early 1800s."

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[Edited on 6-2-2004 by Condorcet]