This section is from the book "Electricity For Boys. The "How-To-Do-It" Books", by J. S. Zerbe. Also available from Amazon: Electricity for Boys.
It has long been the dream of scientists to convert heat directly into electricity. The present practice is to use a boiler to generate steam, an engine to provide the motion, and a dynamo to convert that motion into electricity. The result is that there is loss in the process of converting the fuel heat into steam; loss to change the steam into motion, and loss to make electricity out of the motion of the engine. By using water-power there is less actual loss; but water-power is not available everywhere.
Heat may be converted directly into electricity without using a boiler, an engine or a dynamo, but it has not been successful from a commercial standpoint. It is interesting, however, to know and understand the subject, and for that reason it is explained herein.
To understand the principle, it may be stated that all metals are electrically positive-negative to each other. You will remember that it has hereinbefore been stated that if, for instance, iron and copper are put into an acid solution, a current will be created or generated thereby. So with zinc and copper, the usual primary battery elements. In all such cases an electrolyte is used.
Thermo-electricity dispenses with the electrolyte, and nothing is used but the metallic elements and heat. The word thermo means heat. If, now, we can select two strips of different metals, and place them as far apart as possible - that is, in their positive-negative relations with each other, and unite the end of one with one end of other by means of a rivet, and then heat the riveted ends, a current will be generated in the strips. If, for instance, we use an iron in conjunction with a copper strip, the current will flow from the copper to the iron, because copper is positive to iron, and iron negative to copper. It is from this that the term positive-negative is taken.
The two metals most available, which are thus farthest apart in the scale of positive-negative relation, are bismuth and antimony.
Fig. 101. Thermo-Electric CoupleIn Fig. 101 is shown a thermo-electric couple (A, B) riveted together, with thin outer ends connected by means of a wire (C) to form a circuit. A galvanometer (D) or other current-testing means is placed in this circuit. A lamp is placed below the joined ends.
Any number of these couples may be put together and joined at each end to a common wire and a fairly large flow of current obtained thereby.
One thing must be observed: A current will be generated only so long as there exists a difference in temperature between the inner and the outer ends of the bars (A, B). This may be accomplished by water, or any other cooling means which may suggest itself.
 
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