Contribution of the thermoelectric effect to the morphological stability/instability of dielectric films

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics - V Holešovičkách 2, 18000 Prague, Czech Republic, EU

Corresponding author: jan.somvarsky@mff.cuni.cz

Received: 5 November 2009
Accepted: 10 December 2009

Abstract

Seebeck's thermoelectric effect in dielectrics is reflected by the generation of electric polarization. This thermopolarization phenomenon has been verified on ferroelectrics experimentally many times. We have set out to demonstrate that the corresponding thermoelectric field can also produce forces at the boundary between two dielectric fluids. Our deliberations indicate that the thermoelectric field contributes either to the stability, or to the instability of the plane interface of two fluids. The effect can be observed on thin layers, to which larger temperature gradients can be applied. The intensity of the electric field of a fluid, induced by a temperature gradient, was found only for water (in 2008) and, therefore, we shall monitor our results on a water-air double layer.