Text: Number 727 #1, April 14, 2005 by Phil Schewe and Ben Stein A New Kind of Equilibrium Normally heat will flow from a hot place to a neighboring cold place. In a new form of thermoelectric refrigerator, proposed by Tammy Humphrey (University of Wollongong, Australia) and Heiner Linke (University of Oregon), temperature imbalances can be held at bay by electrochemical imbalances. The implications? Possibly much more efficient forms of no-moving-parts electric refrigerators. Heat and electricity are two forms of energy, and in a special circuit, made from thermoelectric materials, a temperature difference can generate electricity and, conversely, a voltage difference can bring about a temperature difference. A thermoelectric circuit usually consists of two semiconductors joined at two junctions. One of the semiconductors is of the p type with a surplus of holes, the other of the n type with a surplus of electrons. http://www.aip.org/pnu/2005/split/727-1.html

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