NREL reveals potential for capturing waste heat via nanotubes

A finely tuned carbon nanotube thin film has the potential to act as a thermoelectric power generator that captures and uses waste heat, according to researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory ...

Electricity generating nano-wizards

Just as alchemists always dreamed of turning common metal into gold, their 19th century physicist counterparts dreamed of efficiently turning heat into electricity, a field called thermoelectrics. Such scientists had long ...

Harvesting energy from devices

If there's one thing nearly all modern technology has in common, it's heat. Whether it's your car, computer, television, or even refrigerator, they all generate large amounts of heat. And nearly all of it goes to waste.

Electricity from waste heat with more efficient materials

Thermoelectric materials can convert waste heat directly into electricity. Tommi Tynell, M.Sc., who is a doctoral candidate at the Aalto University School of Chemical Technology, has developed hybrid thermoelectric materials ...

Researcher aims to use waste heat to make cars more efficient

Yanliang Zhang wants to make vehicles more efficient by using a resource most people aren't even aware of—the waste heat that results from the inherent inefficiency of engines when converting fuel into energy.

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