in an electric circuit with a junction of two metals
that heating or cooling one side of the junction
resulted in an electric current
that deflected the arrow of a compass.
Seebeck thought he had discovered
a thermomagnetic effect, but Hans Christian Ørsted
observed that the magnetic deflection
was a result of the generated current,
and coined the term thermoelectricity.
Thermocouple and thermopile
Put a temperature difference across it—
you generate a voltage
to measure the temperature,
which is called a thermocouple,
or to generate electricity,
which is called a thermopile.
Not by accident
It couldn’t have been an accident,
a circuit tossed together
from parts remaining from other experiments.
I have friends who have said
nothing is accidental.
Unknowable past lives explain this one.
Sometimes things click
when everything makes sense
and explanations fall into place.
Thomas Johann Seebeck and Hans Christian Ørsted
are examples of remote partners, one to discover the phenomenon in 1821,
and the other to explain it in 1834.
The thermoelectric effect is also known as the Seebeck effect.
Thomas Johann Seebeck and Hans Christian Ørsted are examples of remote partners, one to discover the phenomenon in 1821, and the other to explain it in 1834. The thermoelectric effect is also known as the Seebeck effect.
See also in The book of science:
Readings on wikipedia: