1998a
The following is a U.S. Patent granted to Harold Aspden with an issue date of
March 31, 1998.
US PATENT NO 5,734,122
'THERMOELECTRIC ENERGY CONVERSION APPARATUS'
Abstract:
Apparatus is disclosed in which a pair of elongated solid cylindrical metal
conductors mounted with their central axes mutually parallel are connected at
their ends to form a closed electrical circuit path, there being heat sinks at
spaced positions along their length which serve as heat transfer means setting
up a temperature gradient along the lengths of the conductors. A strong
electrical current flow in the conductors creates a circumferential magnetic
field in the metal directed at right angles to the heat flow and this, by the
Nernst Effect, produces a radial electric field gradient in the metal coupled
with the transient accumulation of stored electrical energy. The apparatus
disclosed serves for the experimental testing of energy conversion and storage
by thermoelectric processes occurring in the metal and the ultimate utilization
of the technology involved.
