The search for an alternative source of energy is on. While there are ongoing experiments on energy production, many of them are still far from being feasible. Those that are in use now are equally not as too feasible since they cost so much. But an alternative electricity production from heat would soon be a reality.
Turning heat into electricity is nothing new. The use of solar panels and solar cells has shown that turning heat into electricity can be done. However, as of now the technology for this is still quite expensive for the average person. Researchers from Ohio State University have used a composite of nickel and platinum in order to create voltage output of 10 watts or even greater.
Unlike what has previously been built, the new device created has a much thicker material. This would be more like what would be used for industrial devices. The team of researchers are the same ones that have used a quantum mechanical effect to create electricity from heat.
Heat is generated by a number of equipment and machines. The heat generated from them is called waste heat since it is not used for the equipment to run. Research is being made now to harness waste heat for something more useful. This area of research is called solid-state thermoelectric.
Stephen Boona, co-author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at Ohio State University said that much of energy produces heat, and much of that heat is not used for anything productive. With solid-state thermoelectric, waste heat could be used for a better purpose such as producing electricity. Devices that would be used for it would have no moving parts and would not require any maintenance, according to The Ohio State University's site.
While much of those devices might be easier to use, they are also still expensive and not practical for most people. Joseph Heremans and his team at Ohio State University has researched on the use of magnons, which is the study of waves and particles in magnetism, as Science Daily reports. The device they have created is still not ready for a more widespread application, but it is much closer to becoming a reality. Alternative electricity production from heat would soon be a reality, once a device for it has been perfected. Another alternative fuel source might be one from poop.
