Mária Telkes
Encyclopedia
Mária Telkes was a Hungarian-American scientist and inventor who worked on solar energy technologies.
Telkes moved to the United States after completing her PhD in physical chemistry in Hungary. She worked as a biophysicist in the United States and from 1939 to 1953 she was involved in solar energy research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Telkes is known for creating the first thermoelectric power generator in 1947 and the first thermoelectric refrigerator in 1953 using the principles of semiconductor thermoelectricity.
She was a prolific inventor of practical thermal devices, including a miniature desalination unit for use on lifeboats, which used solar power and condensation to collect potable solar still
.
One of her specialties were phase-change materials, including molten salts to store thermal energy. She lectured widely in a rather pronounced Hungarian accent that made her sound like one of the Gabor sisters
. Fortunately, she had a ready sense of humor. One of her materials of choice was sodium sulfate Glauber's salt. After a lecture in Texas, a student came up to her, intrigued and asked, "Where can I get some of your 'global' salts ?"
Telkes was considered one of the founders of solar thermal storage systems. She moved to Texas in the 1970s and consulted with a variety of start-up solar companies, including Northrup Solar, which subsequently became ARCO Solar, and eventually BP Solar.
Telkes moved to the United States after completing her PhD in physical chemistry in Hungary. She worked as a biophysicist in the United States and from 1939 to 1953 she was involved in solar energy research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
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Telkes is known for creating the first thermoelectric power generator in 1947 and the first thermoelectric refrigerator in 1953 using the principles of semiconductor thermoelectricity.
She was a prolific inventor of practical thermal devices, including a miniature desalination unit for use on lifeboats, which used solar power and condensation to collect potable solar still
Solar still
A solar still is a low-tech way of distilling water, powered by the heat of the sun . Two basic types of solar stills are box and pit stills. In a solar still, impure water is contained outside the collector, where it is evaporated by sunlight shining through clear plastic...
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One of her specialties were phase-change materials, including molten salts to store thermal energy. She lectured widely in a rather pronounced Hungarian accent that made her sound like one of the Gabor sisters
Gabor sisters
The Gabor sisters are three famous Hungarian actresses/socialites:* Magda Gabor 1918-1997* Zsa Zsa Gabor 1917-present* Eva Gabor 1919-1995...
. Fortunately, she had a ready sense of humor. One of her materials of choice was sodium sulfate Glauber's salt. After a lecture in Texas, a student came up to her, intrigued and asked, "Where can I get some of your 'global' salts ?"
Telkes was considered one of the founders of solar thermal storage systems. She moved to Texas in the 1970s and consulted with a variety of start-up solar companies, including Northrup Solar, which subsequently became ARCO Solar, and eventually BP Solar.