Comment on If the first solar entrepreneur hadn't been kidnapped, would fossil fuels have dominated the 20th century?

• luthis@lemmy.nz ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I was too curious:

  Cove’s device was a sort of thermocouple, and thus not based on newly-discovered natural processes or scientific principles. In the patent application the device was described as follows: A thermo-electric battery and appurtenances comprising a block of incombustible, non-conductive material, a series of pairs of elements comprising a plurality of elements formed of an alloy of antinomy and zinc, and a plurality of elements connecting said antinomy and zinc elements, said elements connecting said first-mentioned elements being alternatively of copper and of an alloy of nickel, copper and zinc.

  journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/…/22231

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  • HappycamperNZ@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    No such thing as too curious… unless you are a cat. Little dangerous there.

    If im reading this correctly, and translated to english:

    • non conductive block

    • two different alloys - zinc and opposite to zinc (antinomy) v copper and nickle/copper/zinc.

    • assuming light hits, produces difference between metal and opposite metal, results in current flow through wire to equalize. Not sure how rare earth Nickle and zinc are, but suppose its not cobalt.

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    • CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      So it’s a Seebeck Effect generator and really isn’t what we’d call a solar device today.

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      • luthis@lemmy.nz ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Seebeck Effect

        This is how fridges work in reverse right? Apply current and make one side really cold?

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      • HappycamperNZ@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Sorry - above my pay grade knowing what that is. Got a bit of education to get through.

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    • luthis@lemmy.nz ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Nickel and zinc are very common to my knowledge. And much easier to mine than lithium

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  • sj_zero ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Oh, it's just a thermopile put out in the sun.

    I can see why it never caught on then. You'd be relying on the difference in temperature between the hot side of a thing painted black put in the sun and the cool side in the shade. The amount of energy you'd get from such a setup would be infinitecimal. I'd expect you'd need to do an absurd amount of work and use an absurd amount of material just to power a single house.

    The amount of energy it would take to build a "solar cell" thermopile that'd generate 1.5v with a quite high internal resistance would probably be in the megawatt-hours, likely from coal and oil.

    • luthis@lemmy.nz ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      There were some numbers in one of the links I posted, hopefully that is able to give some solidity to the theory.

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      • sj_zero ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        It was early when I read the article, I got the impression that the 9W was for the furnace version of the thermopile electric generator.

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  • PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    What is the typical conversion efficiency of a solar powered thermocouple?

    “Cove presented his second solar electric generator there in 1909. This 1.5m2 panel could produce 45 watts of power and was 2.75% efficient in converting solar energy into electricity.”

    resilience.org/…/how-to-build-a-low-tech-solar-pa…

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