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Yeah, but it's a gimmick. There's no way to make it useful because even at perfect efficiency, it's not possible to generate a useful amount of power given the
by teilo 7y ago
Yeah, but it's a gimmick. There's no way to make it useful because even at perfect efficiency, it's not possible to generate a useful amount of power given the required surface area.
- airstrike 7y ago> Yeah, but it's a gimmick. Yeah, but it's also a proof of concept. Nobody is claiming the device as is should be commercially available.
- boomlinde 7y agoUseful for what? The paper mentions off-grid sensors, which seems like a useful application. Looks like the numbers are 0.5W/m² which means a square meter of these could power e.g. an ESP8266. It's obviously not going to power your home with those numbers, but it's a little unimaginative to say that it has no useful application.
- ctdonath 7y ago0.5W/m² is amusing, as my rule of thumb for solar power is 10W/m² (24/7/365, all degradation considered).
- newnewpdro 7y agoSmall LEDs requiring zero grid or battery support in places of total darkness can be useful, especially if the cost is low enough.
- klodolph 7y agoIt requires a thermal reservoir and radiative cooling. This doesn’t sound better than a battery to me.
- newnewpdro 7y agoIt's a lot easier to fulfill the requirements of a thermal reservoir than it is chemical battery. The former can just be a chunk of repurposed garbage.
- klodolph 7y agoI’m not sure what scenario you’re thinking of where a reservoir, thermoelectric chip, and radiative cooler is easier than a (much smaller) battery and photovoltaic cell. Care to explain?
- outworlder 7y agoWhat is the useful life time of the thermoelectric chip versus a battery?