The body heat charger

Smart phones could one day be charged in a pocket using only body heat. Even sooner, rocket sensors needed to monitor an engine's health while launching it into space could feature sensors powered solely by the heat generated from the rocket. Those opportunities are possible thanks to a new patent-pending Loyola University New Orleans invention by physics professor Patrick Garrity. A $74,523 NASA grant from Stennis Space Center, Miss., will allow the invention to enter prototype, or beta testing, at SSC. Thermoelectric technology, turning heat into electricity, has been around for years but it's inefficient. But Garrity aims to change that with a system that redirects the heat and raises the efficiency dramatically. (Source: Loyola University, 09/30/13)