30 January 2012
folder [featCategs]
Cool new material that responds under pressure
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A TEAM at Barcelona University has identified a new material that exhibits what has been described as an inverse barocaloric effect at room temperature, which means that it cools when pressure is applied, unlike most other materials.
In studies the team found a material which exhibits a substantial change at moderate pressures: its temperature drops by 1ºC for each additional 1kbar of pressure.
The material, a compound of lanthanum, iron, silicon and cobalt, also changes temperature when an external magnetic field is applied. This group of materials is considered to be the most promising for potential refrigeration systems. The fact that it responds to two types of external stimulus - magnetic fields and pressure - would allow for the design of devices that apply these stimuli simultaneously to obtain higher levels of performance.