Magnetic fridge: the exciting new green technology of the 21st century

Fridges and other cooling devices have become a necessity. Do you know they account for emission of harmful gases and high electricity bills? Currently the system used by the fridges all over the world comprise of a compressor that compresses a gas into a liquid and it is then circulated in the inner walls of the fridge that in turn absorb the heat from the objects kept inside.

Now some British scientists have developed a new technology that uses magnetic theory for cooling. The best part of the technology is that it will reduce the power consumption by 40% and make no use of harmful gases.

The technology uses gadolinium (Gd), a silvery-white metal that is strongly attracted by a magnet, has a magnetic disordering temperature of 20C, and a giant magnetocaloric effect of several degrees. The element is subjected to a magnetic field that results in heating of the element due to alignment of electrons in sequence, now this heat is absorbed by circulating a liquid and the magnetic field is removed and the element cools below its staring temperature. A Cambridge University spin-out company, Camfridge Ltd, has built two prototype magnetic fridges that use gadolinium. This element is very expensive so now Professor Derek Fray, a leading expert in materials chemistry is working on an alloy that has a negative magnetocaloric effect - it cools in a magnetic field. This could also be harnessed for fridges through a heat exchange process.

This technology will bring a new revolution in fridge and cooling appliance industry and will surely be appreciated by the consumers as it is a green technology and promises reduced power consumption.

Via: guardian