A thermoelectric wearable body heat-powered health tracker utilizes the principles of thermoelectricity to generate electrical power from the temperature difference between the wearer's body and the surrounding environment. This technology leverages the Seebeck effect, which is the phenomenon where a voltage difference is created between two different materials when there's a temperature gradient across them.
Here's how the working principle of such a device can be described:
Thermoelectric Material Selection: The wearable device incorporates thermoelectric materials that are capable of efficiently converting heat into electricity. These materials are typically semiconductors with a high Seebeck coefficient, meaning they can generate a significant voltage difference in response to a temperature difference.
Temperature Gradient: The device is designed to be in direct contact with the wearer's skin, allowing it to access the body's natural heat. At the same time, the outer surface of the device is exposed to the ambient environment, which is usually at a lower temperature. This temperature gradient between the body and the surroundings is essential for the functioning of the thermoelectric generator.
Thermoelectric Generator (TEG): The heart of the device is the thermoelectric generator, which consists of multiple thermoelectric elements connected in a series or parallel configuration. Each element is made up of two different types of thermoelectric materials with different electrical properties. These materials are joined together at their ends, forming a circuit.
Heat Absorption and Dissipation: The side of the device in contact with the wearer's skin absorbs the body heat, while the opposite side exposed to the air rapidly dissipates this heat. This temperature difference across the thermoelectric elements creates a voltage potential difference according to the Seebeck effect.
Electricity Generation: As the temperature difference drives the movement of electrons from the hot side to the cold