

Charge a smartphone with a pan of boiling water - JonnieCache
http://tes-ne.com/English/03_product_e.html

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mhb
Thermoelectric devices are news now? You could buy them at all the surplus
electronic places for at least 20 years.

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JonnieCache
They have new relevance with the recent proliferation of mobile phones and
similar devices in the developing world.

See also: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p20hxRVj5c> which is a video about
kenyans charging their phones with bicycle dynamos.

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mhb
I guess. But they are incredibly inefficient and this way (in the diagram) of
using the technology encourages the burning of forests. But maybe the vision
(not in the diagram) is that a solar concentrator would be used to get the
heat.

Anyway, seems like solar cells are better for charging these devices in places
where it is sunny.

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yread
It's not that inefficient if you consider you can boil the water for drinking
or making food and it charges your phone as a "side effect".

The pan also looks a lot sturdier and more robust than a solar cell

