SALT LAKE CITY, June 4 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have developed a technology that converts heat into sound and then into electricity.
University of Utah physicist Orest Symko said the technology also holds promise for harnessing solar energy and cooling computers and radars.
"We are converting waste heat to electricity in an efficient, simple way by using sound," said Symko. "It is a new source of renewable energy from waste heat."
Symko plans to test the technology within a year to produce electricity from waste heat at a military radar facility and at the university's hot-water-generating plant.
The research is funded by the U.S. Army, which is interested in "taking care of waste heat from radar and also producing a portable source of electrical energy which you can use in the battlefield to run electronics," said Symko.
The scientist and his colleagues said they expect the technology could be used within two years as an alternative to photovoltaic cells for converting sunlight into electricity, as well as a way to cool laptop and other computers.
Five of Symko's doctoral students will present the research Friday in Salt Lake City during the annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.
