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Thermoelectric devices can turn heat wafting off of engines, industrial boilers, and similar sources into electricity.
However, they’re too expensive to install under the hood of your car or next to your kitchen oven.
At least, they have been.
Now scientists at Northwestern University have figured out how to make a thermoelectric compound from abundant materials and make it vastly cheaper than previous versions.
A thermoelectric device lays one side against a hot surface—your car’s engine, for example—while the other side is away from the heat. As the heat moves toward the cool side, it creates an electrical current.
Keeping the heat from making the cool side too warm has been the key challenge. Solving that problem has involved materials and engineering that made such devices far too pricey for everyday use.
After years of attempts, the Northwestern team has created a thermoelectric material from tin and selenium that can be processed commercially without losing its efficiency.
The developers need to continue to refine their material but the door has been opened to making everyday thermoelectric devices.
TRENDPOST: The breakthrough can provide a timely new source of distributed or on-site electrical generation as power-guzzling tablets, smart appliances, and the Internet of Things become even more ubiquitous.