There are now peltier effect coats [link] being developed that charge your cell phone. Of course, energy comes from transferring heat out of your coat and into the environment - sort of killing the idea of a coat.

My idea is to have a controled temperature coat - adjust a dial and you lose more heat and charge your battery faster. Adjust it the other way and you stay warmer and charge your battery slower. Keep dialing up the knob and you pull battery power from your phone and warm your jacket.

Of course if you're warm and your battery is already charged, the electricity will be discharged by running a built-in stereo system playing "Hot hot hot" and flashing colorful OLEDs built into the fabric.
-- Worldgineer, Feb 23 2012

Thermoelectric effect coat http://www.itworld....s-power-just-matrix
[Worldgineer, Feb 23 2012]

Bun for all of it, but especially for the result when you are too warm and the battery is already charged.
-- Psalm_97, Feb 24 2012


Not cool man...
but it can be in just a few seconds.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Feb 24 2012


[big] Peltier devices are basically heat pumps - putting electricity in moves heat from the cold side to the hot side (this is how they're currently used in electronics, such as in some small refrigerators). Or, letting heat flow from the hot side to the cool side can generate electricity. The linked idea uses this second effect to charge a cell phone battery. I'm proposing the rate at which you charge your battery can be controlled, which also adjusts the amount of heat flowing across the device and therefore the warmth of your jacket. The process can also be reversed, by putting energy into the device you can absorb heat from the environment (even though it's cold) and deliver it to the inside of the jacket. This can deliver heat more efficiently than resistive heating, since it takes less energy to move heat than to generate it.

Um... and the thermal gradient between the inside and the outside of the coat could be displayed on the OLEDs built into the fabric for an extra fee.
-- Worldgineer, Feb 24 2012


// peltier effect//

<pedant>

The effect that generates electrical current is the Seebeck or Thermocouple effect.

The Peltier effect produces heat transfer by driving a current through a junction of dissimilar materials.

</pedant>
-- 8th of 7, Feb 24 2012


High quality pedantry, [8th]. In the future I'll try to stick with the term "thermoelectric effect" because I'm unlikely to care enough to remember which is which.
-- Worldgineer, Feb 26 2012


// High quality pedantry, [8th]. //

<bows graciously>

// I'm unlikely to ... remember which is which //

Do not fear, we will be here to remind you.
-- 8th of 7, Feb 26 2012


[World] ! Good to see you around again.
-- normzone, Feb 26 2012


Thanks [norm]. I check in every month or two to make sure nobody's accidentally blown the place up.
-- Worldgineer, Feb 27 2012


the word "accidentally" sticks in my mind for some reason.
-- FlyingToaster, Feb 27 2012



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