Thermoelectric materials with a high efficiency of heat to electricity conversion are being developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi.

Solar energy has received a lot of attention lately, but there are other alternative sources that are just as promising but less well recognized.

Associate Professor at IIT Mandi Ajay Soni is researching materials that can turn heat into energy. In comparison to solar energy, it is entirely different.

There is no need for very enormous machinery or massive, extremely hot things like the Sun in this process.

According to Sony, a lot of electrical devices can only be powered by a person's body heat.

The IIT claimed that the vast volumes of waste heat produced by industrial and energy production operations are frequently absorbed into the atmosphere. Scientists in India are developing novel materials that can capture and make use of the waste heat produced by these operations.

Researchers have discovered a number of new intelligent materials that may effectively transform waste heat into power for use in autos, tiny home appliances, and other devices.

Thermoelectric materials are those that can transform waste heat into electrical energy. A temperature gradient is produced by keeping one end of the material hot and the other cold in order to produce an electrical voltage.

Sony claims to have created a working prototype of a module that can absorb body heat and transform it into power. The mobile phone can be charged with this technology simply by being held in the palm of the hand or in the pocket.

The same is true for charging a laptop on your lap without using a charger, outlet, or switch.

According to Sony, these devices can be charged by the heat that humans produce. There will be a little module put on each of these devices. By converting body heat into energy, the device's internal module will power the gadget.

According to study, a variety of products, including watches and earbuds, can be charged using human body heat in addition to mobile phones and laptops.

Soni said that he discovered, while doing his research, that the module his team created could effectively convert heat released from numerous sources—aside from the human body—into energy.

Energy can be produced from a car's bonnet when it is heated.

According to Sony, a lot of big appliances emit heat, and this heat can be turned into power. It has been lost up until now as heat, which is now a key contributor to global warming.