Related papers: Heat to electricity thermoacoustic-magnetohydrodyn…
Thermoacoustic engines convert heat energy into high amplitude acoustic waves and subsequently into electric power. This article provides a review of the four main methods to convert the (thermo)acoustic power into electricity. First,…
Conversion of electromagnetic energy into magnetohydrodynamic energy occurs when the electric conductivity changes from negligible to finite values. This process is relevant during the epoch of reheating of the early Universe at the end of…
Electric power may, in principle, be generated in a highly efficient manner from heat created by focused solar irradiation, chemical combustion, or nuclear decay by means of thermionic energy conversion. As the conversion efficiency of the…
Thermoelectric devices are heat engines, which operate as generators or refrigerators using the conduction electrons as a working fluid. The thermoelectric heat-to-work conversion efficiency has always been typically quite low, but much…
Thermoelectricity describes phenomena that allow us to convert heat into electricity and vice versa. The practical implications of this conversion are obvious. However, research on thermoelectric effects also leads to a deep understanding…
This paper presents a new device able to turn thermal gradients into electricity by using a bimetal-based heat engine coupled to an electrostatic converter. A two-steps conversion is performed: (i) a curved bimetallic strip turns the…
We analyse a device aimed at the conversion of heat into electrical energy, based on a closed cycle in which a distiller generates two solutions at different concentrations, and an electrochemical cell consumes the concentration difference,…
It is shown that a heat energy can be transformed in an electric energy of direct current by the use of an inhomogeneous superconducting ring. This trasformation is possible both at an iterative change of temperature and at an unaltered…
Thermoelectric effects, such as the generation of a particle current by a temperature gradient, have their origin in a reversible coupling between heat and particle flows. These effects are fundamental probes for materials and have…
The energy transition is also about switching to electricity-based technologies such as heat pumps and electric mobility. They avoid heat as an intermediate step and are therefore much more efficient. This can significantly reduce the…
We present an overview of recent advances in the study of energy dynamics and mechanisms for energy conversion in qubit systems with special focus on realizations in superconducting quantum circuits. We briefly introduce the relevant…
Thermoelectricity is the direct conversion of temperature gradient to electric voltage, and vice-versa. There are several potential applications of thermoelectricity, ranging from clean noiseless cooling, to waste-power harvesting in…
We introduce a new class of mesoscopic heat engines consisting of a tunnel junction coupled to a linear thermal bath. Work is produced by transporting electrons up against a voltage bias like in ordinary thermoelectrics but heat is…
We propose a pyroelectric energy conversion device that converts heat directly to electricity. In contrast to conventional pyroelectric energy conversion designs, this energy harvesting system is detached from any external power sources,…
Industrial processes release substantial quantities of waste heat, which can be harvested to generate electricity. At present, the conversion of low grade waste heat to electricity relies solely on thermoelectric materials, but such…
We discuss thermal rectification and thermoelectric energy conversion from the perspective of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and dynamical systems theory. After preliminary considerations on the dynamical foundations of the…
We investigate a heat- to charge-current converter consisting of a single-level quantum dot coupled to two ferromagnetic metals and one ferromagnetic insulator held at different temperatures. We demonstrate that this nano engine can act as…
The temperature dependence of the dielectric permittivity is taken into account to study the energy change in a capacitor that follows a cycle between a cold and a hot thermal reservoirs. There is a net energy gain in the process that, in…
Thermomechanical cycles with a ferroelectric working substance convert heat to electrical energy. As shown here, magnetoelectrically coupled ferroelectric/ferromangtic composites (also called multiferroics) add new functionalities and allow…
We review theoretical approaches to analyzing efficiency of steady state heat to work conversion which is crucial in the timely problem of optimizing efficiency of small-scale heat engines and refrigerators. A rather abstract perspective of…