Concerning excess heat, a reader wonders about materials science:
There are substances which absorb heat and then give up photons later, which can then be converted into electricity. I wonder if that would be an option?
I believe those are called thermoelectric materials.
The thermoelectric effect refers to phenomena by which either a temperature difference creates an electric potential or an electric potential creates a temperature difference.
According to Wikipedia, they are being used, or at least researched, only for niche applications. I wonder if the requirement of a temperature difference would be a limiting factor in terms of the required scalability.
A few years ago, I had considered suggesting the use of thermoelectric materials for the design of the next generation of credit cards. That would obviate any attacks from a distance, resulting in a requirement that in order to break a credit card, one would have to possess it. In combination with a potent encryption scheme, they might be unbreakable. But the credit card companies chose to go with a computer chip on the card instead.
I wonder how many ways that can be broken.
