Seebeck and Peltier Effects University of （塞贝克大学和珀尔帖效应）.pdf

Seebeck and Peltier Effects Introduction Thermal energy is usually a by product of other forms of energy such as chemical energy, mechanical energy, and electrical energy. The process in which electrical energy is transformed into thermal energy is called J oule heating. This is what causes wires to heat up when current runs through them, and is the basis for electric stoves, toasters, etc. Electron diffusion T2 e e e e e e e e T2T 1 e e e e e e e e cold hot I - + V Figure 1: Electrons diffuse from the hot to cold side of the metal (Thompson EMF) or semiconductor leaving holes on the cold side. I. Seebeck Effect (1821) When two ends of a conductor are held at different temperatures electrons at the hot j unction at higher thermal velocities diffuse to the cold j unction. Seebeck discovered that making one end of a metal bar hotter or colder than the other produced an EMF between the two ends. He experimented with j unctions (simple mechanical connections) made between different conducting materials. He found that if he created a temperature difference between two electrically connected j unctions (e.g., heating one of the j unctions and cooling the other) the wire connecting the two j unctions would cause a compass needle to deflect. He thought that he had discovered a way to transform thermal energy into a magnetic field. Later it was shown that a the electron diffusion current produced the magnetic field in the circuit a changing emf V ( Lenz’s Law). The magnitude of the emf V prod