- #1
Zirngibism
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Such thing as a "steam panel" for generating energy?
Hi,
Sort of a hypothetical question here, though I suspect there's some real-world technology like this.
I was wondering about a possible way to generate energy using a panel that would catch steam, and use the temperature difference between the steam side and the back side to generate power, but not mechanically like a turbine. More like a solar panel.
It doesn't need to be more efficient than the conventional means of turning steam into power. This is more of a hypothetical scenario. (I'm making science fiction concept art of artificial and/or natural "plants" that live on a geothermally active area and capture energy from steamy hot springs. The idea doesn't have to "work" in real life, but I want it to be grounded in reality.)
I have googled "thermovoltaic", but it seems as though that term means "heat generated as a result of electricity" instead of the other way around.
Here's some stuff I've found so far, but none of them are really quite what I'm looking for. I was hoping for something that would work more like a solar panel, only with a different kind of cell. It also seems as though almost everything I've found has to do with using the sun as the thermo source as part of a solar panel...
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5959239.html (This sounds right, but I wish there was a diagram or something. A little too technical for me.)
http://www.livescience.com/technology/070216_heat_power.html (Probably the closest thing I've found to what I want...)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070603225026.htm (interesting, but not what I'm looking for.)
http://www.ferrotec.com/products/thermal/powerGen/ (Doesn't describe the process, but at least I know that this type of thing exists and is used in industry.)
So, anyway, if you have any link to something I'm missing, or know of some key vocabulary term that I could use in my searches, or can explain the process more concisely than in some of those links, I'd appreciate it!
Hi,
Sort of a hypothetical question here, though I suspect there's some real-world technology like this.
I was wondering about a possible way to generate energy using a panel that would catch steam, and use the temperature difference between the steam side and the back side to generate power, but not mechanically like a turbine. More like a solar panel.
It doesn't need to be more efficient than the conventional means of turning steam into power. This is more of a hypothetical scenario. (I'm making science fiction concept art of artificial and/or natural "plants" that live on a geothermally active area and capture energy from steamy hot springs. The idea doesn't have to "work" in real life, but I want it to be grounded in reality.)
I have googled "thermovoltaic", but it seems as though that term means "heat generated as a result of electricity" instead of the other way around.
Here's some stuff I've found so far, but none of them are really quite what I'm looking for. I was hoping for something that would work more like a solar panel, only with a different kind of cell. It also seems as though almost everything I've found has to do with using the sun as the thermo source as part of a solar panel...
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5959239.html (This sounds right, but I wish there was a diagram or something. A little too technical for me.)
http://www.livescience.com/technology/070216_heat_power.html (Probably the closest thing I've found to what I want...)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070603225026.htm (interesting, but not what I'm looking for.)
http://www.ferrotec.com/products/thermal/powerGen/ (Doesn't describe the process, but at least I know that this type of thing exists and is used in industry.)
So, anyway, if you have any link to something I'm missing, or know of some key vocabulary term that I could use in my searches, or can explain the process more concisely than in some of those links, I'd appreciate it!
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