[Lab] should I DIY this thermocouple?

[Michael Ayukawa]

Darcy,
Try searching for "thermopile"  or "peltier effect" or "peltier seebeck"
These devices are not terribly efficient but certainly robust (used on spacecraft).

For a DIY, I'd try to find a busted cooler that plugged into a DC source like a car.
i also recall seeing a unit that sat on a wood burning stove and turned a fan (but expensive!).

Generally made from semiconductors, you are correct that DIY possibilities exist by bonding
dissimilar metals.

The problem is that metals conduct heat rather efficiently.  And this reduces the overall 
efficiency.  But for a DIY demo, this might not be an issue.

/Mike



On 2011-12-29, at 12:31 PM, Darcy Whyte wrote:

> 
> http://mambohead.com/2011/12/thermal-thinking/ 
> 
> It's 216.00 CDN. 
> 
> I think it could be fun but does anybody know what materials and how to construct?
> 
> 
> 
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