ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Alkali-metal thermal to electric converter

An alkali-metal thermal to electric converter is something that can turn heat into electricity! Imagine you have a toy car that runs on batteries. When the batteries run out, the car stops working. But what if you could make the car move by just heating up something? That's exactly what an alkali-metal thermal to electric converter does!

Think of it like this: you have a pot of boiling water on the stove that heats up a metal coil. When the metal coil gets really hot, it releases electrons that travel through a wire and power the toy car. That's electricity! So instead of needing batteries, you can just use heat from boiling water to power things.

The special thing about an alkali-metal thermal to electric converter is that it uses a special kind of metal called an alkali metal. These metals are really good at giving off electrons when they get hot, so they're really efficient at turning heat into electricity.

So next time you're cooking something on the stove, think about the heat you're creating and how it could be used to power things!