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Peltier-seebeck Effect





SEEBECK EFFECT


The Seebeck effect is the conversion of Heat differences directly into Electricity .

This effect was first discovered, accidentally, by the Estonia n physicist Thomas Johann Seebeck in 1821 , who found that a voltage existed between two ends of a Metal bar when a temperature gradient
abla T existed in the bar.

He also discovered that a Compass needle would be deflected when a closed loop was formed of two metals with a temperature difference between the junctions. This is because the metals respond differently to the heat difference, which creates a current loop, which produces a Magnetic Field .

A Voltage , the thermoelectric EMF , is created in the presence of a Temperature difference between two different metals or Semiconductor s. This usually causes a continuous current to flow in the conductors. The voltage created is on the order of several microvolts per Degree of difference.

In the circuit:

(which can be in several different configurations and be governed by the same equations), the voltage developed can be derived from:

:V = \int_{T_1}^{T_2} \left( S_\mathrm{B}(T) - S_\mathrm{A}(T) ight) \, dT

''S''A and ''S''B are the Seebeck Coefficient s (also called ''thermoelectric power'' or ''thermopower'') of the metals A and B, and ''T''1 and ''T''2 are the temperatures of the two junctions. The Seebeck coefficients are non-linear, and depend on the conductors' absolute temperature, material, and molecular structure. If the Seebeck coefficients are effectively constant for the measured temperature range, the above formula can be approximated as:

:V = (S_\mathrm{B} - S_\mathrm{A}) \cdot (T_2 - T_1)

Thus, a Thermocouple works by measuring the difference in potential caused by the dissimilar wires. It can be used to measure a temperature difference directly, or to measure an absolute temperature, by setting one end to a known temperature. Several thermocouples in series are called a thermopile.

This is also the principle at work behind Thermal Diode s and Thermoelectric Generator s (such as Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator s or RTGs) which are used for creating power from heat differentials.

The Seebeck effect is due to two effects: ''charge carrier diffusion'' and ''phonon drag''.


Thermopower


If the temperature difference between the two nodes is small,

:T_2 = T_1 + \Delta T \,

and a voltage Δ''V'' is seen at the terminals, then the Thermopower of the entire thermocouple is defined as:

:S_\mathrm{AB} = S_\mathrm{B}-S_\mathrm{A} = \lim_{\Delta T o 0} {\Delta V \over \Delta T}

This can also be written in relation to the electric field ''E'' and the temperature gradient

abla T, by the equation