3 ms·
Current peltier chips are barely a few percent efficient, break easily and require high temperature differentials. They're used in stove-top fans and RTGs. The
by marksbrown 5y ago
Current peltier chips are barely a few percent efficient, break easily and require high temperature differentials. They're used in stove-top fans and RTGs. The latter should be Sterling engines to be ignorant mind. I don't doubt there are some interesting things to be accomplished by shaping the flow of heat conduction but I sincerely doubt it'll be energy generation directly. Thermodynamics isn't something you can just ignore!
- XorNot 5y agoThe history of moving parts in space missions (RTGs) is why Kepler's mission is degraded: keeping reaction wheels and other spinning things lubricated and moving when you can't get in there and service them is hard.
- chopin 5y agoWhy wouldn't airgapped bearings be used for this? Is it too heavy?
- Fordec 5y agoThe bearings end up cold welding at friction points in the vacuum of space is one issue.
- darksaints 5y agoConsequently, NASA is often at the forefront of technologies that reduce moving parts. For example: https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LEW-TOPS-80 https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LEW-TOPS-80 https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LEW-TOPS-106 https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LEW-TOPS-106