Turning Heat to Electricity

Summary posted by Meridian on 11/20/2009
Source: MIT News
Author: David L. Chandler

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States, have found a way to more efficiently harvest electrical power from what would otherwise be wasted heat. Computer processor chips, car engines and electric powerplants waste approximately 60 percent of their energy as excess heat, creating a major source of inefficiency. The new research shows that by using a system in which power is generated by a single quantum-dot device, a type of semiconductor in which the electrons and holes carry the electrical charges, they can efficiently convert heat into electricity, and with very little power. The team also found that their new system allows them get both high efficiency and high-throughput power. This type of waste-energy harvesting could lead to power plants that put out more electricity for a given amount of fuel, or cell phones and laptop computers that can operate twice as long on a single charge, and eventually cars, planes and boats that operate more efficiently. Peter Hagelstein, an associate professor of electrical engineering and a co-author of a paper on the new concept that will appear this month in the Journal of Applied Physics, says "[T]here's a gold mine in waste heat, if you could convert it. A lot of heat is generated to go places, and a lot is lost. If you could recover that, your transportation technology is going to work better." The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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our team contact us site map	Turning Heat to Electricity Summary posted by Meridian on 11/20/2009 Source: MIT News Author: David L. Chandler Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States, have found a way to more efficiently harvest electrical power from what would otherwise be wasted heat. Computer processor chips, car engines and electric powerplants waste approximately 60 percent of their energy as excess heat, creating a major source of inefficiency. The new research shows that by using a system in which power is generated by a single quantum-dot device, a type of semiconductor in which the electrons and holes carry the electrical charges, they can efficiently convert heat into electricity, and with very little power. The team also found that their new system allows them get both high efficiency and high-throughput power. This type of waste-energy harvesting could lead to power plants that put out more electricity for a given amount of fuel, or cell phones and laptop computers that can operate twice as long on a single charge, and eventually cars, planes and boats that operate more efficiently. Peter Hagelstein, an associate professor of electrical engineering and a co-author of a paper on the new concept that will appear this month in the Journal of Applied Physics, says "[T]here's a gold mine in waste heat, if you could convert it. A lot of heat is generated to go places, and a lot is lost. If you could recover that, your transportation technology is going to work better." The article can be viewed online at the link below. The original article may still be available at web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/thermoelectric.html As tagged by Meridian Institute: Energy: Energy, Climate Change Implications: Human Enhancement, Governance, Economic Competitiveness Materials And Manufacturing: Electronics, Manufacturing Nanomaterials: Metal Nanoparticle Regions: North America Stakeholders: Government, Academia Minerals And Metals: Metals Related Forums: Materials and Manufacturing Metals and Minerals Economic Competitiveness Governance print format	NDN Home Subscribe Manage Subscription Search News Archives Understanding Public Debate on Nanotechnologies: Options for Framing Public Policy -- The Innovation Society (2/8/2010) The Governance and Ethics Unit of the Directorate General for Research (DG Research) of the European Commission (EC) has published an overview paper on options for framing public policy on nanotechnologies. [More] UN Patent Filings Dropped for 1st Time Since 1978 -- ABC news (2/8/2010) The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an entity through which a company can, for a fee, file a request for patent protection in any or all of the 142 countries that have subscribed to the U.N.'s Patent Cooperation Treaty, reported that the number of international patent filings dropped last year for the first time since 1978. [More] TECHNOLOGY: Science Panel Probes Renewable Energy's Current Use of China's Rare Metals -- Environment & Energy Daily (2/8/2010) A United States House of Representatives Science and Technology subcommittee this week will hold a hearing on rare earth mineral production and the resource's role in the growing clean energy industry. [More] Nanofood for Thought -- Nature Nanotechnology (2/5/2010) This editorial, in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, is in response to the recent report, "Nanotechnologies and Food", released in January by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, United Kingdom, that criticized the food industry for failing to be transparent about its research into the uses of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials. [More] More News... Learn how to include these headlines on your own website by clicking here. Please email us if you require text-only versions of the daily emails.