THERMOELECTRIC MATERIAL, THERMOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT, AND MODULE GROUP COMPOSED OF COMBINATION OF THERMOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENTS AND Π-TYPE MODULE GROUP MADE OF THERMOELECTRIC MATERIAL AND Π-TYPE MODULE GROUP MADE OF THERMOELECTRIC MATERIAL OTHER THAN SUCH Π-TYPE MODULE GROUP

摘要

The purpose of the present invention is to create a thermoelectric conversion system in which the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric material is close to the Carnot efficiency, such thermoelectric material containing a "module group composed of a combination of thermoelectric conversion elements". The invention reduces as much as possible the thermal conductivity from anything other than a space portion or a working substance able to move inside a thermoelectric conversion element due to a connected space portion, in a new generation of thermoelectric materials which comprise a "module group composed of a combination of thermoelectric conversion elements", and which are thermoelectric materials that do not suffer damage from a load or heat retention and that are composed of thermoelectric conversion elements that do not suffer damage from a load or heat retention. The invention comprises reforming thermoelectric material surfaces sandwiching a space, or surfaces facing this thermoelectric material, to make an interface that is suitable for power generation, cooling, and heating operation. The purpose of the present invention is to produce an interspecific module superior to a "module group composed of a combination of thermoelectric conversion elements" and in contact with three or more different heat bath sources at room temperature or the like, and to produce a thermoelectric conversion system that comprises this module and has a thermoelectric conversion efficiency close to the Carnot efficiency.