That kind of motion we call heat

Providing a sustainable supply of energy to the worlds population will become a major societal problem for the 21st century as fossil fuel supplies decrease and world demand and environmental concern increases. Thermoelectric phenomena, which involve the conversion between thermal and electrical energy, and provide a method for heating and cooling materials, are expected to play an increasingly important role in meeting the energy challenge of the future. To this end it is important to understand the microscopic mechanism which determines the macroscopic laws of heat and particles transport and allows to control the heat current. Here we discuss a new approach, which is rooted in nonlinear dynamical systems, for increasing the efficiency of thermoelectric machines. The main focus will be on the physical mechanisms, unveiled by these dynamical models, which lead to high thermoelectric efficiency, approaching the Carnot limit.