Nernst effect

Thermoelectric effect
Principles Thermoelectric effect Seebeck effect Peltier effect Thomson effect Seebeck coefficient Ettingshausen effect Nernst effect
Applications Thermoelectric materials Thermocouple Thermopile Thermoelectric cooling Thermoelectric generator Radioisotope thermoelectric generator Automotive thermoelectric generator
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In physics and chemistry, the Nernst effect (also termed the first Nernst–Ettingshausen effect, after Walther Nernst and Albert von Ettingshausen) is a thermoelectric (or thermomagnetic) phenomenon observed when a sample allowing electrical conduction is subjected to a magnetic field and a temperature gradient normal (perpendicular) to each other. An electric field will be induced normal to both.

This effect is quantified by the Nernst coefficient ${\displaystyle \nu }$, which is defined to be

${\displaystyle \nu ={\frac {E_{y}}{B_{z}}}{\frac {1}{\partial _{x}T}}}$

where ${\displaystyle E_{y}}$ is the y-component of the electric field that results from the magnetic field's z-component ${\displaystyle B_{z}}$ and the x-component of the temperature gradient ${\displaystyle \partial _{x}T}$.

The reverse process is known as the Ettingshausen effect and also as the second Nernst–Ettingshausen effect.