What do a car engine, a power plant, a factory and a solar panel have in common? They all generate heat -- a lot of which is wasted. University of Arizona physicists have discovered a new way of harvesting waste heat and turning it into electrical power. Using a theoretical model of a so-called molecular thermoelectric device, the technology holds great promise for making cars, power plants, factories and solar panels more efficient, to name a few possible applications. In addition, more efficient thermoelectric materials would make ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, obsolete. The research group led by Charles Stafford, associate...