0
$\begingroup$

For the thermoelectric effect, now, consider the case of uniform voltage (uniform chemical potential) with a temperature gradient. In this case, at the hotter side of the material there is more variation in the energies of the charge carriers, compared to the colder side. This means that high energy levels have a higher carrier occupation per state on the hotter side, but also the hotter side has a lower occupation per state at lower energy levels.

Can somebody explain this statement to me. What's the meaning of "higher carrier occupation per state" and "lower occupation per state" . And why does hot side has both of them?

Edit: Source of the quoted material-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seebeck_coefficient

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to the site! We normally expect textual quotes to be accompanied to a reference to the original source. $\endgroup$
    – Emilio Pisanty
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 18:36

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1
$\begingroup$

The quote says how the Fermi-Dirac distribution behaves as a function of temperature.

Here is an image from Commons:

Fermi-Dirac distrubutions

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.