A number of prototype thermoelectric refrigerators are investigated and their cooling performances evaluated in terms of the coefficient-of-performance, heat-pumping capacity and cooling-down rate. The coefficient-of-performance of a thermoelectric refrigerator is found to be around 0.3-0.5 for...

The explosive expansion in microelectronics, with a relentless drive towards smaller and smaller circuits, is accompanied by a requirement for miniature power sources. Thermoelectric generating devices offer a potential for meeting this requirement. In this paper an introduction to the...

A thermoelectric generator is a unique heat engine in which charge carriers serve as the working fluid. It has no moving parts, is silent in operation and very reliable. However, its relatively low efficiency (typically around 5%) has restricted its use to specialised medical, military and space...

The NASA spacecrafts Voyager 1 and 2 became household names overnight following the showing on television of the remarkable photographs of the rings of Saturn and more recently of Neptune and its mysterious moon, Triton. None the less remarkable is the source of electrical power which enables...

The increased activity in attempts to develop improved thermoelectric semiconductors for use in the direct conversion of heat into electrical energy results mostly from research sponsorship by the US Military and NASA. Thermoelectric generators have no moving parts and are difficult to detect by...

During the winter months in regions where constant electric power supply cannot be relied upon, power may be derived parasitically from heating stoves. A proportion of heat from these 20–50 kW wood or diesel-heated stoves may be utilized to drive a thermoelectric generator (TEG) consisting of...