material from researchers at Northwestern University could offer
a way to capture and recycle waste heat better than ever before
[press release]. The material can convert a record 14 percent of
the waste heat passing through it to usable electric When
manmade devices perform work, be it a computer or a car, they
produce heat. That heat is ultimately lost, reducing the energy
efficiency of our devices. Some have cleverly exploited this
fact, using waste heat to offer desirable comfort heating. But
ultimately, the only good solution is to try to somehow
recapture that heat in a usable form. To do that, the right
material was necessary. Semiconductors have long been considered
a promising candidate, as they can produce electricity when
heated. Lead telluride (composed of lead and tellurium ions on a
lattice) was considered one of the most promising candidates, as
it was relatively efficient in accomplishing the heat to
electricity But attempts to improve that efficiency via various
techniques, such as nano-inclu