Access
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
News and Views
Nature 451, 132-133 (10 January 2008) | doi:10.1038/451132a; Published online 9 January 2008
There is a Correction (17 January 2008) associated with this document.
Open Innovation Challenges
-
Novel Approaches to Protecting Maize from Insect Damage
The Seeker is looking for novel approaches to protecting maize from insect damage. This Challenge re...
-
Methods of Modeling Adaptation in Populations
The analysis of adaptation with a population is a frequently encountered computational modeling scen...
- More Challenges
- Powered by:
nature jobs
Postdoctoral Research Associate
- Rice University
- Houston, Texas, USA
Scientist (Bioinformatics)
- Polyclone Bioservices Pvt. Ltd
- Bangalore India
Materials science: Desperately seeking silicon
Cronin B. Vining1
Abstract
Using silicon as a 'thermoelectric' material to convert heat into electricity would be a technological leap forward. But silicon conducts heat so well that nobody thought that could work — until now.
Thermoelectric materials convert heat into electric current, and vice versa. If they could be made more efficient at that conversion, they might be used to suck up waste heat from fossil-fuel combustion processes to make electric current, or as an alternative to photovoltaic cells for converting solar warmth into elec-tricity1.
- Cronin B. Vining is at ZT Services, 2203 Johns Circle, Auburn, Alabama 36830-7113, USA.
Email: nature@zts.com
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Condensed-matter physics Thermopower to the peopleNature News and Views (22 May 2003)
CorrectionNature News and Views (17 Jan 2008)
See all 6 matches for News And ViewsRESEARCH
Peierls distortion as a route to high thermoelectric performance in In 4 Se 3-&dgr; crystalsNature Letters to Editor (18 Jun 2009)
Silicon nanowires as efficient thermoelectric materialsNature Letters to Editor (10 Jan 2008)
See all 6 matches for Research