Chip converts waste heat into electricity

Nanowerk  July 10, 2019
It is estimated that as much as two-thirds of energy consumed in the U.S. each year is wasted as heat. Researchers at the University of Utah have demonstrated that they can go well beyond the theoretical “blackbody limit”. They produced a 5mm-by-5mm chip of two silicon wafers with a nanoscopic gap between them. While the chip was in a vacuum, they heated one surface and cooled another surface, which created a heat flux that can generate electricity. The technology could be used to not only cool down portable devices like laptops and smartphones but also to channel that heat into more battery life, possibly as much as 50% more…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE