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@Vorg - I agree, they do seem to be the same.
@mikrovolt - thanks for the links - good info!
@NickZ - could you tell me more about what you are doing when hooking your cells up to external sources. I don't quite understand.
@all
Sorry for the copy and paste here and the long post - however, this is information I am looking at to try and understand what might be happening in the monothermal cell.
Permittivity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A perfect dielectric is a material that has no conductivity, thus exhibiting only a displacement current. Therefore it stores and returns electrical energy as if it were an ideal capacitor. Although an ideal capacitor would remain at zero volts after being discharged, real capacitors will develop a small voltage, a phenomenon that is also called soakage or battery action. For some dielectrics, such as many polymer films, the resulting voltage may be less than 1-2% of the original voltage. However, it can be as much as 15 - 25% in the case of electrolytic capacitors or super capacitors.
Dielectric - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A dielectric is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an applied electric field. A common, yet notable example of a dielectric is the electrically insulating material between the metallic plates of a capacitor. The polarization of the dielectric by the applied electric field increases the capacitor's surface charge. The most obvious advantage to using such a dielectric material is that it prevents the conducting plates on which the charges are stored from coming into direct electrical contact. More significant, however, a high permittivity allows a greater charge to be stored at a given voltage.
Polyvinyl acetate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Polyvinyl acetate, PVA, PVAc, poly(ethenyl ethanoate), is a rubbery synthetic polymer with the formula (C4H6O2)n. It belongs to the polyvinyl esters family with the general formula -[RCOOCHCH2]-. It is a type of thermoplastic.
Dielectrics - The Physics Hypertextbook
When the atoms or molecules of a dielectric are placed in an external electric field, the nuclei are pushed with the field resulting in an increased positive charge on one side while the electron clouds are pulled against it resulting in an increased negative charge on the other side. This process is known as polarization and a dielectric material in such a state is said to be polarized. There are two principal methods by which a dielectric can be polarized: stretching and rotation. Some insulators will remain in their polarized state for hours, days, years, or even centuries. It is somewhat important to keep in mind that the charges "stored" in a dielectric layer aren't available as a pool of free charges. To extract them, you still need metal plates.
With this information, I am inclined to think that the elements used in the intermediate layers of this type cell is creating an electrical source similar to an external source placed on a normal capacitor. The glue is dielectric passing the stored, or in this case, the generated electricity to the metal plates. I welcome and entertain all comments on this. Would it be impossible to consider this a self powering capacitor?
Again, sorry for the long post!
Brad S
@mikrovolt - thanks for the links - good info!
@NickZ - could you tell me more about what you are doing when hooking your cells up to external sources. I don't quite understand.
@all
Sorry for the copy and paste here and the long post - however, this is information I am looking at to try and understand what might be happening in the monothermal cell.
Permittivity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A perfect dielectric is a material that has no conductivity, thus exhibiting only a displacement current. Therefore it stores and returns electrical energy as if it were an ideal capacitor. Although an ideal capacitor would remain at zero volts after being discharged, real capacitors will develop a small voltage, a phenomenon that is also called soakage or battery action. For some dielectrics, such as many polymer films, the resulting voltage may be less than 1-2% of the original voltage. However, it can be as much as 15 - 25% in the case of electrolytic capacitors or super capacitors.
Dielectric - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A dielectric is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an applied electric field. A common, yet notable example of a dielectric is the electrically insulating material between the metallic plates of a capacitor. The polarization of the dielectric by the applied electric field increases the capacitor's surface charge. The most obvious advantage to using such a dielectric material is that it prevents the conducting plates on which the charges are stored from coming into direct electrical contact. More significant, however, a high permittivity allows a greater charge to be stored at a given voltage.
Polyvinyl acetate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Polyvinyl acetate, PVA, PVAc, poly(ethenyl ethanoate), is a rubbery synthetic polymer with the formula (C4H6O2)n. It belongs to the polyvinyl esters family with the general formula -[RCOOCHCH2]-. It is a type of thermoplastic.
Dielectrics - The Physics Hypertextbook
When the atoms or molecules of a dielectric are placed in an external electric field, the nuclei are pushed with the field resulting in an increased positive charge on one side while the electron clouds are pulled against it resulting in an increased negative charge on the other side. This process is known as polarization and a dielectric material in such a state is said to be polarized. There are two principal methods by which a dielectric can be polarized: stretching and rotation. Some insulators will remain in their polarized state for hours, days, years, or even centuries. It is somewhat important to keep in mind that the charges "stored" in a dielectric layer aren't available as a pool of free charges. To extract them, you still need metal plates.
With this information, I am inclined to think that the elements used in the intermediate layers of this type cell is creating an electrical source similar to an external source placed on a normal capacitor. The glue is dielectric passing the stored, or in this case, the generated electricity to the metal plates. I welcome and entertain all comments on this. Would it be impossible to consider this a self powering capacitor?
Again, sorry for the long post!
Brad S
I will continue to monitor this setup and report any changes. Thank you for sharing this NickZ.
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