Looking for some practical information

[Traveler]

Ok I’m looking for some practical information here.

What I want to do is produce enough electrical power to trickle charge a normal lead acid battery, (car battery) directly from a normal camp fire. On a very low budget!

In order to achieve this I am looking at connecting a whole lot of thermocouples together into a thermopile. Use the camp fire to heat the one end and some water that is handy to cool the other. I was thinking along the lines of ceramics in a metal. casing to insulate the hot end.

But the problem is finding a cheep source for the materials. I have found that normal welding wire as in arc welders is a good substitute for the nickel wire.

But I need to find a good substitute for the Selenium or Tellurium wire. After all the last thing I want is to set up a pile of over 2000 wires.

Do any of you know a good substitute that I can use.

[Traveler]

With all the science buffs here I would have expected a bit more than silance

[grendel 13]

With all the science buffs here I would have expected a bit more than silance

well i can help with the silence part, howdy, but as for the battery and cables and stuff i haven't a clue , sorry. :dunno:

[The Silence]

well i can help with the silence part, howdy, but as for the battery and cables and stuff i haven't a clue , sorry. :dunno:

As can I...

Though will your common copper/tin wire compound be a cheap replacement for this?
Then again I could just remain silent...cause I really don't know why you're doing this...

[Cartesiantheater]

With all the science buffs here I would have expected a bit more than silance

I'll help you this time next year (by then I would have taken two calculus based classical physics courses, including thermodynamics and theory about electricity, I am certain).

But you've got to understand that most of our "science buffs" don't deal with classical physics/materials science.

We have SEVERAL people very knowledgeable in BIOLOGY, but the guys involved in physics are much more knowledgeable about THEORETICAL physics, rather than "practical" physics.

BUT you could ask the question HERE (http://forum.physorg.com/index.php?act=idx) if you want. In fact, I may do that in a bit...

[DontBeAfraid]

Your last "science buff" question was just a lead in for you to tell us we needed god.... I was actually curious to see how you would do so with a question about ceramicly insolated wire in a camp fire.... with a battery on top....

[Protostar]

Isn't Silver the best conductor of light? What about encasing in silver?
Or am I way off base? I don't know about this but am interested in anything
that will generate a current using a campfire. heh.

[Traveler]

A thermopile is a common method of converting heat energy into electrical energy.

This is what is used to power the deep space probes that are heading out of our solar system at this point in time. But here they use a chunk of decaying radio active material as the heat source with the coldness of space on the other end.

Now even in the best conditions you are not able to get much more than 450 watts out this thing but even half that is good enough to trickle charge a wet cell battery

Using copper and iron is not very practical. You will need so many thermocouples that it will be unwieldy to say the least. Hence I am looking at the more exotic metals because of the greater potential differences.

It has nothing to do with religion.

I really do want to make one.

I like the little luxuries in life like running water, tunes and a CB radio. Even if I'm camping in the middle of nowhere and the gas supplies are limited. Its called make a plan and be prepared.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator

[Cartesiantheater]

A thermopile is a common method of converting heat energy into electrical energy.

This is what is used to power the deep space probes that are heading out of our solar system at this point in time. But here they use a chunk of decaying radio active material as the heat source with the coldness of space on the other end.

Now even in the best conditions you are not able to get much more than 450 watts out this thing but even half that is good enough to trickle charge a wet cell battery

Using copper and iron is not very practical. You will need so many thermocouples that it will be unwieldy to say the least. Hence I am looking at the more exotic metals because of the greater potential differences.

It has nothing to do with religion.

I really do want to make one.

I like the little luxuries in life like running water, tunes and a CB radio. Even if I'm camping in the middle of nowhere and the gas supplies are limited. Its called make a plan and be prepared.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator

No, seriously, ask these guys. (http://forum.physorg.com/index.php?act=idx)

I'm willing to bet that someone there can help you. I would suggest posting your question in the "Puzzling questions" subforum.