Electricity can be easily converted into heat – every electric cooker does it. But is the opposite also possible? Can heat be converted into electricity – directly, without a steam turbine or similar detours? Physicist Thomas Seebeck answered this question with a clear ‘yes’ over 200 years ago. He was able to show that certain materials, known as “thermoelectrics”, generate electricity when heated on one side and cooled on the other. A temperature difference creates electrical energy – without the need for mechanical generators. This is now known as the “Seebeck effect”.
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