.
SEEBECK EFFECT SHOWS PHOTON ENERGY CURRENT
WITHIN CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS.
CHAN RASJID KAH CHEW
24 October 2023
Abstract. If a piece of conducting material has a temperature difference
between its two ends, an electromotive force is observed between the ends
with the hotter end being positive and the other negative. This is the See-
beck effect. The emf is dependent only on the temperature difference and
the type of conductor material. Current physics only mentions the emf of
the Seebeck effect, but has ignored another significant fact about the See-
beck effect. Besides the observed emf, the Seebeck effect causes a radiation
energy current flow within the conductor from the hotter end towards the
cooler end. The operation of a thermocouple electric cell relies on the See-
beck effect. An analysis the operation of such a cell shows that energy trans-
mission by current-carrying conductors has nothing to do with the magnetic
fields surrounding the conductor; the actual physical mechanism of energy
transmission is by photon energy current within the body of the conductor.
1. Introduction.
(Note: The concept of an apulse comes from the author’s earlier aether paper[2].
It is an aether wavelet of exactly one wavelength - a quantum of light similar to
the photon. In this paper, an apulse is treated the same as a photon)
The aim of this paper is to examine the working of a thermoelectric cell based
on the thermocouple. An analysis of how such a thermoelectric cell drives an ex-
ternal electrical load would show that energy transmission by current-carrying
conductors has nothing to do with the magnetic fields surrounding the conduc-
tors. The actual physical mechanism of energy transmission of current-carrying
conductors is by radiant(photon) energy current within the very conductor.
T
2
,+ve T
1
,-ve
R, Radiation
E
k2
E
r2
E
k1
E
r1
Figure 1. Seebeck Effect.T
2
is the hot junction, a heat source.
T
1
, a heat sink, is at room temperature
1
SEEBECK EFFECT SHOWS PHOTON ENERGY CURRENT WITHIN CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS.2
2. The Seebeck Effect
The Seebeck Effect was discovered by German physicist Thomas Johann
Seebeck(1821). If a temperature gradient is established in a length of conduc-
tor, an electromotive potential is established between the ends of the conductor.
This is termed the Seebeck Effect.
The effect could easily be explained with our current understanding of the
nature of metals. A piece of solid metal has a cloud of free electrons within
its body. A simplistic treatment may consider the free electrons as particles
within a container obeying the kinetic theory of gases. The temperature gra-
dient within the metal would result in the electron density increasing towards
the cooler end. This would result an emf between the ends with the hotter end
being electrically positive and the cooler end negative.
Figure 1 shows a piece of metal maintained with a steady state temperature
gradient with the ends at temperature T
2
, T
1
, T
2
> T
1
and T
1
is at room temper-
ature. To maintain the steady temperature gradient, there need to be a thermal
heat flow from the hot end towards the cooler end supplied from an external
heat source; without a heat source, the steady temperatures T
2
, T
1
cannot be
maintained. In the situation under our consideration, the thermal energy flow
consists mainly of transfer of kinetic energy and radiant energy within the con-
ductor. The two energy flow may be described as energy currents E
k2
, E
k1
and
E
r2
, E
r1
.
The kinetic energy current E
ki
is due to the molecular vibrations of the atoms
of the solid. This is the main component of heat conduction. We may assume
the hot end of the metal is heated with an open flame and the cooler end is a heat
sink dissipating the heat flow. The kinetic component of heat is transferred from
the flame to the metal through mechanical collision with the hot air molecules;
this exchange of energy would propagate towards the cooler end. As the tem-
perature gradient is at a steady state, there cannot be any accumulation of ki-
netic energy within the conductor. What kinetic energy that flows from the heat
source must be fully dissipated at the heat sink with some heat loss dissipated
to the air surrounding the conductor.
Classically, a solid body is almost 100% empty space; space is either "empty"
or filled with the aether as with the author’s aether SUT theory [2]. What is
known is that the universe is a sea of radiation. The sun radiates energy. It is
mainly radiations that energy reaches the earth and is absorbed by matter earth.
All objects (temperatures above 0
◦
K) radiates energy. The radiations within the
body of a solid is no different from the radiations in the universe; the only dif-
ference may be said to be the origin. The suns energy comes from fusion and is
dissipated mainly as radiations. Within the solid, electrons absorb or emit pho-
tons all the time. This is what is called thermal radiation of condensed matter.
At ambient temperature, the radiations is mainly in the infrared spectrum.
In the situation as depicted in Figure 1, the conductor body is losing radiant
energy to its surrounding as it is assumed the conductor temperature is above
that of room temperature. It is also assumed that the temperature gradient of the
SEEBECK EFFECT SHOWS PHOTON ENERGY CURRENT WITHIN CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS.3
T
2
E
k
E
r
T
1
,+ve
V volt
T
1
, -ve
chromel
E
s2
alumel
E
s2
E
s1
E
s1
load
Figure 2. Chromel-alumel thermocouple. T
2
is the hot junc-
tion, T
1
is at room temperature. Energy currents E
k
, E
r
result-
ing from heat source. Radiant energy current E
r
= 2E
s2
.
conductor is at a steady state; this means there cannot be any average change in
photon density within the conductor. As thermal radiant energy is dissipated
fully across the conductor length: R = E
r2
− E
r1
. If T
1
is at room temperature,
then E
r1
= 0. This shows that the Seebeck emf is always accompanied by a
radiant energy current of photons.
The Seebeck emf is always accompanied by a photon energy current
within the conductor body.
3. The Thermocouple As An Electric Cell.
The thermocouple may be used as a thermoelectric cell which converts heat
energy into electrical energy that drives an external load. Figure 2 shows a
schematic diagram of such a typical cell.
A thermocouple consists of two dissimilar metals joined at one common junc-
tion kept at a temperature T
2
. The other open ends are kept at a reference tem-
perature T
1
. In its operation as a thermoelectric cell, T
1
may be considered at
room and T
2
at an elevated temperature. The hot common junction T
2
is the
source of heat that supplies energy to the cell. In order to maintain its emf, a
heat source input is needed even if the cell is in open circuit.
The relation between the Seebeck emf of a conductor and its temperature
difference may be expressed as:
E
a
= α
a
△T ; (1)
E
a
being the Seebeck emf, α
a
the Seebeck coefficient for the conductor A, △T
the temperature difference. The Seebeck coefficient is a property of the conduc-
tor material.
The two metals of a thermocouple are chosen to have the greatest possible
difference in their Seebeck coefficients. A common alloy pair is chromel (90%
nickel, 10% chromium) and alumel (95% nickel, 2% manganese,2% aluminium,
1% silicon). In Figure 2, for chromel with α
c
, and alumel with α
a
, The voltage
difference V is :
V = E
a
− E
c
= (α
a
− α
c
)△T ; (2)
SEEBECK EFFECT SHOWS PHOTON ENERGY CURRENT WITHIN CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS.4
3.1. Thermocouple In Open Circuit. When the thermocouple cell is in an
open circuit,the energy currents E
k
, E
r
would be similar to what is explained in
the Seebeck effect of Figure 1. E
k
is the kinetic energy flow component needed
to maintain the steady temperature gradient. The currents E
s2
are the accom-
panying photon currents to the open circuit voltage V, E
r
= 2E
s2
. The current
E
s1
would be zero as the radiant energy would be fully dissipated through ther-
mal radiation loss to the surrounding air.
3.2. ThermocoupleIn Closed Circuit. In a closed circuit,the heat source must
be increased to supply the additional power needed to drive the external load.
The current E
k
would be the same whether the circuit is open or closed; this is
so as the temperature gradient would be the same in both situations (ignoring
any slight i
2
r loss within the thermocouple). This would mean that the extra
power need, P
l
, may only be supplied through an increased radiant energy cur-
rent E
r
. As noted, E
s1
= 0 in an open circuit. In a closed circuit, E
s1
= P
l
/2.
4. How Energy Is Transmitted Through Current-carrying
Conductors.
In a closed circuit, the thermocouple is supplying electrical energy to drive
an external load. As its source of energy is heat, it is converting heat energy to
electrical energy and transmitting the energy through current-carrying conduc-
tors. The question that this article is trying to address is how electrical energy
is transmitted through current-carrying conductors. The physical mechanism
of transfer should be the same for all electrical cells, whether the cell is a ther-
mocouple or a chemical cell. It should even be the same for alternating current
generators.
With the thermocouple in operation supplying power P
l
, the radiant energy
current at T
2
is E
s2
; at the the ends T
1
, the radiant current is E
s1
= P
l
/2. E
s1
is the amount of radiant energy photon leaving the thermocouple connectors
connecting to the load. The energy that the load needs is directly carried in the
photons of E
s1
.
4.1. Energy Transmitted Through Magnetic Fields. The explanation of cur-
rent electromagnetism is that electrical energy is transmitted through the mag-
netic fields surrounding current-carrying conductors. In our closed circuit ther-
mocouple, it would mean the photons of E
s1
would somehow be transformed
into a form suitable to be transmitted by the magnetic fields. Current electro-
magnetism has no explanation how physical photon entities be converted and
be carried through the magnetic fields surrounding the conductor wires. The
photons of E
s1
has only two pathways to go, either to be directed into the mag-
netic fields or be absorbed by matter; aphoton may release its energy only when
it relinquishes its existence - there is no third way. Current electromagnetism
admits of neither.
SEEBECK EFFECT SHOWS PHOTON ENERGY CURRENT WITHIN CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS.5
4.2. Energy Transmitted Through Photon Current Within Conductors. The
logical argument would be that the photon currents E
s1
simply continue its
path through metal conductors, leaving the conductors of the thermocouple and
entering the conductors connecting to the load. There is no strong argument
that radiation photons could traverse the thermocouple conductors and yet be
stopped from entering the current-carrying conductors.
Current-carrying conductors transmitenergy through photon energy
currents within the conductors.
The Seebeck effect shows this explanation in a rather explicit manner. To find
any acceptable counter argument to it seems improbable.
This explanation, too, is consistent if the electric cell is a chemical cell. Chem-
ical cells convert chemical energy into electrical energy. The chemical energy
comes from the chemical binding energies of the relevant chemical interactions
and these comes from changes in the electrons energy configuration when en-
ergy is released. Fundamentally, exothermic chemical reactions release energy
as photons and these would leave the cell terminals as energy currents entering
the current-carrying conductors.
It may seem that this explanation of photon energy current may face some
difficulty when it comes to the AC alternator generating electrical power. A typ-
ical alternator in a power station has the rotor as the magnets and the armature
windings as the stator. The current explanation of the alternator is through Fara-
day’s law of electromagnetic induction. The rotation of the rotor magnets con-
verts mechanical energy to electrical energy. The energy of mechanical work
produces the electromotive force that causes currents to flow through the arma-
ture supplying electrical power to the external load.
If electrical energy is carried through photon currents,then the armature wind-
ings must be supplied with photons. If the photons originate in the armature
winding itself,then there must be an external source of energy so that the atoms
of the armature could absorb and re-emit photons continuously. The current
theory is that all of this is taken care of through Faraday’s law of electromag-
netic induction.
An alternative explanation would be that the originating photons come from
the rotating rotor magnets and jump the air gap (the aether) and enter into the
armature windings providing the photon energy current. If indeed energy in
conductors is through photon currents, then this phenomenon is found in the
way a transformer works. All power stations need to step up the transmission
voltage using step-up transformers. As the primary and secondary windings are
separated, the photons from the primary windings could only leave it by jump-
ing the air gap, traveling through the soft iron core and entering into the sec-
ondary windings. The photon current would then flow to its destination hun-
dreds of kilometers away. That the originating photons comes from the rotating
magnet is the more probable explanation. The mechanical work in moving the
magnets is the source of energy producing the photon currents.
SEEBECK EFFECT SHOWS PHOTON ENERGY CURRENT WITHIN CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS.6
5. When The Magnetic Field Becomes Superfluous.
Before the development of the concept of the magnetic field based on the
Biot-Savart Law, there were two competing experimentally derived force laws
on the force interactions between two current elements. There was the Am-
pere’s law (1823) and Grassmann’s law (1845). In most situations,the two laws
were in agreement except for the case of collinear current elements where the
force was zero for Grassmann’s and non-zero in Ampere’s.
The Biot-Savart law for the magnetic field due to a single current element
is based on the Grassmann’s law. The Lorentz magnetic force law would then
extend Grassmann’s law by giving the force that a current element would ex-
perience in a magnetic field. There cannot be a similar field concept that could
be derived from the Ampere’s law. Because of the ease of analytical integration
of fields with vector calculus, the current magnetic field approach was finally
accepted. The Ampere’s law has been largely relegated to the annals of history
not because it has been discredited, but because Maxwell’s theory based on the
magnetic field has become universally accepted.
There is one more critical difference between Grassmann’s law and Ampere’s
law. The Grassmann’s law violates Newton’s third law while Ampere’s law is
in agreement with the third law! Although some have argued that the viola-
tion of Grassmann’s law with Newton’s third law does not invalidate electro-
magnetism based on the magnetic field, the author takes a different view. It
is because of this violation of Newton’s laws of motion that Maxwell’s equa-
tions is not Galilean invariant. A new Lorentz invariance has to be invoked to
fit Maxwell’s theory. The author’s paper [3] shows clearly our physical reality
does not compromise on Galilean invariance. A physical theory consistent with
the reality that the human faculties can comprehend may only be be Galilean
invariant. Maxwell’s theory, though it has helped us to understand that light has
a electric and magnetic origin, is not fundamentally a valid physical theory. A
valid electric theory that is Galilean invariant needs to be urgently developed
if our understanding of our physical world is to reach higher levels. Our cur-
rent theoretical physics has indeed brought us to many levels further, but only
in the realms of fantasies having no relation with the world of reality that the
Good Lord has created us to comprehend and live in.
The introductory textbooks show how the force between two infinitely long
parallel conductors with separation distance R could be computed by finding
how one conductor acts on a length element dl in the other:
F
dl
=
µ
0
2πR
I
1
I
2
dl (3)
It is done by computing the magnetic field of one conductor with current I
1
on
the element dl in the other conductor and then applying the Lorentz magnetic
force law: F = q(v × B).
The form of Ampere’s law in modern notation is:
F
12
= −
µ
0
4π
I
1
I
2
r
2
ˆ
r[2(dl
1
· dl
2
) − 3(dl
1
·
ˆ
r)(dl
2
·
ˆ
r)] (4)
SEEBECK EFFECT SHOWS PHOTON ENERGY CURRENT WITHIN CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS.7
It is only a force law between two current elements. By applying Ampere’s law
and doing a simple integration, the exact same formula (3) is derived. What is
significant is that there is not a need for the concept of the magnetic field. The
magnetic force is nothing other then the forces between charges when they have
relative velocities. Such "magnetic" forces could be found in the more general
Newtonian electrodynamic force law, the Webers force law [4].
It should not be surprising,too, that there is not a need to invoke the Poynt-
ing’stheorem and the magnetic field to explain how energy is transmitted through
current carrying conductors; the concept of the magnetic field is superfluous.
Energy is transmitted by current-carrying conductors through pho-
ton energy currents within the conductors and not carried in the mag-
netic fields surrounding the conductors.
6. Conclusion.
Our analysis of how the thermocouple works as a thermoelectric cell shows
rather explicitly that energy transmission by current-carrying conductors does
not rely on the magnetic fields surrounding the conductors, but rather directly
due to the flow of radiation photon currents within the conductors; the photons
are absorbed and re-emitted along the path of the conductors. It is likely the
magnetic field is just a superfluous mathematical construct that represent no
physical reality in our natural physical world.
References
[1] A.K.T. Assis. Weber’s Laws and Mass Variation. http://www.ifi.unicamp.br/~assis/Phys-
Lett-A-V136-p277-280(1989).pdf
[2] Chan Rasjid. Coulomb Electric Gravity And A Simple Unified Theory (SUT).
https://vixra.org/abs/1808.0211
[3] Chan Rasjid. The Lorentz Transformation Cannot Be Physical.
https://vixra.org/abs/1501.0156
[4] Christof Baumgärtel and Simon Maher. Foundations of Electromagnetism: A Re-
view of Wilhelm Weber’s Electrodynamic Force Law. Foundations 2022, 2, 949–980.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
Email address: chanrasjid@gmail.com
URL: http://www.emc2fails.com
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