A flexible generator can be wrapped around a hot pipe and get free energy

Pennsylvania State University has developed an experimental electricity generator that uses the free heat of existing pipelines. It can also be mounted on a chimney, chimney or exhaust device. In all cases, the heat is not taken away from the system, does not create an additional load on it — on the contrary, the heat that usually just goes into the atmosphere is usefully used.

The principle of operation of a thermoelectric generator is based on the effect that if you create a temperature difference in a material plate, the electrons will rush from the heated side to the cold side. In this case, an electric current arises, which is stronger the higher the temperature difference. In their experiments, American engineers achieved the production of 56.6 watts on a 76 mm long plate with a temperature difference of 570℃ — this is a record figure for such devices.

The idea of such generators is not new, but in this case its design is interesting — paired elements are arranged in strips of 6 pieces on a flexible substrate that binds together 12 strips. It turns out something like a cuff that can be wrapped around the pipe to create maximum contact with the surface for the most efficient use of heat. In theory, the design can be scaled almost infinitely and many extended hot pipes can be wrapped with such generators at various industrial facilities in order to benefit from the heat that is now being consumed just like that