One strategy for addressing the world’s energy crisis is to
stop wasting so much energy when producing and using it, which can happen in
coal-fired power plants or transportation. Nearly two-thirds of energy input is
lost as waste heat.
Now Northwestern University scientists have discovered a
surprising material that is the best in the world at converting waste heat to
useful electricity. This outstanding property could be exploited in solid-state
thermoelectric devices in a variety of industries, with potentially enormous
energy savings.