Patent ID: 8324783

Claim:
A method comprising: generating a substantially continuous electric energy from an at least one layer of pyroelectric material when the at least one layer of pyroelectric material is subjected to at least one of a temporal temperature gradient, a varying electric field and a mechanical oscillation; and creating the at least one of the temporal temperature gradient, the varying electric field and the mechanical oscillation through coupling the at least one layer of pyroelectric material in between a first layer of a first material and a second layer of a second material that harnesses at least one of a heat energy and an electric field energy to produce at least one of the temporal temperature gradient and the mechanical oscillation to which the at least one layer of pyroelectric material is subjected, wherein when the first layer of the first material and the second layer of the second material are a metal coating that radiates black body radiation, the first layer of the first material and the second layer of the second material generate the temporal temperature gradient in the at least one layer of pyroelectric material through creation of an infrared standing wave when the first layer of the first material absorbs the heat energy and radiates an infrared wave to the second layer of second material through the at least one layer of pyroelectric material and the second layer of the second material reflects the infrared wave to interfere with the incident infrared wave to form the infrared standing wave, and wherein the temporal temperature gradient is a change in temperature with respect to time.