A thermoelectric materials emulator
Converting heat directly into power represents a potential major source of renewable energy. An international group of physicists recently accomplished an experiment with cold atoms trapped by lasers at ETHZ which simulates this physical phenomenon. Experimental measurements were compared to theoretical predictions made at the University of Geneva, École Polytechnique and Collège de France in Paris, and the University of Bonn. This new approach may help to study in detail the mechanism of the thermoelectric effect and design new highly efficient materials. Results of this experiment have been published in Science.