Sometimes water isn’t needed. When the heat isn’t enough to boil lots of water, or when the plumbing would be too complicated for the application, it’s possible to directly generate electricity directly from the heat. It’s not as efficient, but it’s useful in some cases. For example: low power, long lifespan spacecraft like New Horizons.
Sometimes water isn’t needed. When the heat isn’t enough to boil lots of water, or when the plumbing would be too complicated for the application, it’s possible to directly generate electricity directly from the heat. It’s not as efficient, but it’s useful in some cases. For example: low power, long lifespan spacecraft like New Horizons.