To Beat the Heat, Personal Cooling That You Can Take With You
Some office workers in Tokyo and Hong Kong have a hidden weapon against blistering summer temperatures. Slipped discreetly into a pocket in the collar of special business shirts, Sony’s Reon Pocket 4 device rests a cool metal pad against the back of the neck.
The gadget, about the size of a small television remote, relies on a thermoelectric phenomenon called the Peltier effect. When electric current flows through the junction of two different conductors, it causes one to heat and one to cool—effectively pumping heat away from the wearer.
Even though the Reon provides only a modest chill, a predecessor device with a smaller battery swiftly sold out last year. Sony says it sees interest in personal-cooling tech increasing, and anticipates a growing market.
The prospect of a warming world is propelling efforts to find new options for personal cooling—a challenging pursuit that some see going far beyond questions of comfort. Whether exploring ways to take thermoelectrics to new levels or looking to desert ants and camels for inspiration, researchers and scientists are seeking innovative solutions, not just for sweaty executives, but farmers, factory workers, first responders and others who lack access to traditional air conditioning.
“You can’t just bring an AC unit with you in the field," says Sheng Xu, a professor of nanoengineering at University of California San Diego who is working on the next generation of thermoelectric devices, aimed at providing respite for farmworkers and others who labor outside when temperatures rise. “It’s too costly, and too heavy for people working long, strenuous hours." Xu has incorporated flexible prototype thermoelectric patches into an undershirt, with the hot side of the thermoelectric
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