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by kool on September 8th, 2009
If you have a lot of heat, then you can do what power plants do -- you can use the heat to generate steam, and use the steam to spin a turbine. The turbine can drive a generator, which produces electricity. This setup is very common, but it requires a fair amount of equipment and space.
If you would like to generate electricity from heat in a simple way that has no moving parts, this usually involves thermocouples.
Thermocouples take advantage of an electrical effect that occurs at junctions between different metals. For example, take two iron wires and one copper wire. Twist one end of the copper wire and one end of one of the iron wires together. Do the same with the other end of the copper wire and the other iron wire. If you heat one of the twisted junctions (perhaps with a match) and attach the two free ends to a volt meter, you will be able to measure a voltage. Similarly, if you hook the two iron wires to a battery, one junction will get hot and the other will get cold.
by Po etry on April 2nd, 2009
Wouldn't that be a thermocouple?
by KiwiBruce on April 2nd, 2009
A direct flame or heat coil placed in the middle of a tourmaline crystal produces an electrical current. The ends of the crystal being the positive and negative poles.
by Marky Mark on April 2nd, 2009
Yes. Heat applied to water → create steam → steam moves → creates pressure → moves the blades of turbines → turbine creates electricity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_turbine
by azlotto on April 2nd, 2009
yes, a peltier junction
by Adz3r0 on September 8th, 2009
Is this a science question, or did you meet someone in a bar last night?
by Sunny on July 5th, 2009
Of course! Heat can cause water turn into steam which can be used to run a turbine.
by kashin on April 12th, 2009
Geothermal energy, here we come!
by SofiaNRage on April 2nd, 2009
indirectly, magnetism can create electricity directly though.
by pedal junky on April 2nd, 2009
some pilot flames on gas pool heaters backfeed milli-volts to energize the coil on the main gas valve.so yes it does.
by sweetheart on April 2nd, 2009
Energy creates heat and electricity is a form of energy.
by Timjon on April 2nd, 2009
More like electricity creates heat
by Sucksatrelationships on September 8th, 2009
Yes heat is a form of energy you just need to convert from one to another.
by yeroco on September 8th, 2009
Yes, but in order to make the heat do work, you must make it flow toward a cooler place, and use that flow to change the heat energy into electrical energy.
If you can do that, you can make use of the "thermoelectric effect", and in particular the "Seebeck effect". More info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seebeck_effect#Seebeck_effect
by Anonymous T on September 8th, 2009
All energy sources can be
transferred into others,
by some medium.
With loss of some of it
of course.
by Nightwatchdog on September 8th, 2009
Yes.
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