LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Sept. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have developed a device that uses sound waves to generate electricity that could be harnessed to power probes into deep space.
The device, called a traveling-wave themoacoustic electric generator, is nearly three times as efficient as thermoelectric devices currently used aboard spacecraft, said researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Northrop Grumman Space Technology.
The traveling-wave device, as described in a recent issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters, is powered by helium gas. The gas is sent through a regenerator that heats up the helium, causing it to expand and contract. The resultant sound waves from the expansion and contraction of the gas are harnessed to drive a piston in an alternator that generates electricity.
Current thermoelectric devices on spacecraft are only able to convert 7 percent of the heat source energy into electricity. The traveling-wave device converts 18 percent of the heat source into electricity.
The researchers also noted the device is highly reliable, which is a necessity for systems intended to power probes sent into deep-space on journeys that can last years.
