What do a car engine, a power plant, a factory and a solar panel have in common?

They all generate heat — a lot of which is wasted.

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University of Arizona physicists have discovered a new way of harvesting waste heat and turning it into electrical power.

Using a theoretical model of a so-called molecular thermoelectric device, the technology holds great promise for making cars, power plants, factories and solar panels more efficient, to name a few possible applications. In addition, more efficient thermoelectric materials would make ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, obsolete.

For more on this article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100930154610.htm

Source: Science Daily / University of Toronto